UNews - ULSU General Assembly

ULSU charitable efforts laudable

trevor.kenney — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 22:17:01 +0000

Life isn't always a breeze, and every once in a while we are all in need of a helping hand. Students are no different.

Thankfully, there are numerous services offered by the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Students' Union (ULSU) to help students whenever life's pinch gets a little too tight, but this is only one side of the charitable coin at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

The flip side to the long list of services offered to students are the charitable actions and efforts of students who want to make life just a little easier for those who need it. The beneficiaries range from those within the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community to the local and provincial communities and as far reaching as beyond international borders.

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Students' Union works diligently to provide an avenue for motivated students to host charitable events on campus. Most recently, Paul Klein and Maxine Saretsky, members of the ULSU General Assembly (GA), organized a shoe drive benefitting Soles 4 Souls. The Nashville-based organization has been collecting and distributing shoes to disadvantaged persons since 2005 and they currently reach people in need in 127 countries.

Over the course of a frigid week in January, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community donated 194 pairs of shoes to the organization's cause. After this year's successful showing, Maxine and Paul hope to have the event return next year.

Another annual charitable event by students profiting students is the ULSU and Education Undergraduate Society (EUS) Fashion Drive. Now in its third year, and spearheaded by GA Education Rep Eva Gorny, the EUS Fashion Drive benefits scholarships for Faculty of Education students. The proceeds raised help to assist future teachers during their third practical semester and their first year in the profession.

The goal of this event is to raise enough money to keep this scholarship going for at least two additional years. Funding will be distributed in $500 increments to education students who qualify.

The collection period for this year's event takes place from Feb. 6-17 and there will be collection boxes located across campus. The fashion sale will take place on Feb. 28-29 in the Students' Union Ballroom B (SU200B).

The focus of the sale may be to help education students through their studies but the entire ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community benefits from the great prices and items available at the sale. Students will have the opportunity to refresh their wardrobe with minimal impact on their pocketbooks, all the while helping their fellow students – a win-win situation.

The well-being of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge's student community remains at the heart of the ULSU's charitable efforts and they continue to seek out new and innovative efforts to improve the lives of their students and the community.

Food bank a valuable service

trevor.kenney — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 21:39:28 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Students' Union (ULSU), an organization mandated to aid students and governed by students, offers a long list of excellent services to the student population throughout the year; but few are as valuable as the ULSU Food Bank.

Formally introduced by the ULSU General Assembly in 2004, the ULSU Food Bank has been growing with every new academic year. Last year, the Food Bank provided over 140 food hampers, both single and family, and saw a consistent increase in new students utilizing the services from the previous year.

The food hampers are designed to assist a student or a family for a period of five to seven days and each contains various healthy food choices. Students are eligible to utilize the Food Bank's services twice a month up to a maximum of ten times throughout their entire academic career.

The Food Bank is a donation driven service and the ULSU hosts numerous fundraising events every year to ensure that the shelves remain stocked and the hampers are plentiful. This year's fundraising efforts kicked off in September with a Car Wash and BBQ held at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Drive Alliance Church (UDAC).

"With the help of UDAC, the General Assembly, our friends at CKXU, community members and volunteers, the ULSU raised $350 to stock the Food Bank shelves," says VP Operations & Finance Leyland Bradley.

The last week of October brought on the second fundraiser of the year, the Trick or Eat Food Drive. Trick or Eat pits campus clubs against one another in a friendly competition to see which of them can raise the most donations, both edible and monetary, through an extensive community canvassing campaign.

At a time when rising education costs and living expenses are scrutinized and discussed at every societal level, and students are feeling the financial pinch more than ever before; now is the time to champion services that facilitate the post-secondary experience.

The ULSU Food Bank is an invaluable service to many ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge students that is only made possible by the generous donations from the Lethbridge and area community, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge community and countless individual donors and volunteers.

If you are a student who requires assistance or you wish to donate to the ULSU Food Bank, do not hesitate to visit www.ulsu.ca, our offices in SU180 or call 403-329-2222 for more information.

This story first appeared in the November issue of the Legend. For a look at the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

SU events; there's an App for that

trevor.kenney — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 15:34:04 +0000

By KYLE DODGSON

As the halls of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge fill with both new and returning students, a familiar, incessant hum accompanies them – the tunes and tones of mobile devices.

Smartphones and mobile devices have become an integral part of campus life and this month, looking to capitalize on this trend, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Students' Union (ULSU) unveils its new mobile application.

The brainchild of SU vice president academic Andrew Williams, the mobile application traces its roots back to December 2010 when Williams was a member of the ULSU General Assembly.

"I noticed that an increasing number of universities were building and releasing iPhone applications that allowed students to access maps, news, events and other informational items on the go. It was something I really wanted to bring to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge," says Williams.

Over the ensuing months, Williams researched numerous application developers and created a detailed document covering all aspects of development and implementation. He then presented his proposal to the Executive Council and General Assembly. Despite initially receiving a lukewarm reception, Williams continued developing the project.

Once he was elected to the VP academic office, Williams received an offer from Canadian developer CollegeMobile, who sought to develop the proposed application for a much lower cost than other competing developers.

"I worked together with the incoming council and the SU staff for about a month on the final details of the application until we had something we were all satisfied and comfortable with," says Williams. "Since then, I've been beta testing each version of the application to make sure there are no errors in the final product."

The mobile app delivers up-to-date information on ULSU events and news, information on every council member, Pronghorns athletic events, an interactive campus map and it integrates both Moodle and Facebook.
"I think that most students will be surprised at how much information it contains and how easy it is to navigate," says Williams.

The ULSU Mobile App is another building block in the Executive Council's strategic initiatives, reinforcing its aspiration to boost the ULSU's on-campus presence, improve communication and promote sustainability on campus.

"The goal of the application is to allow the ULSU to communicate with students through a medium which has become a part of everyday life for most of them," says Williams. "Best of all, the application is free, and I think students will find it to be extremely useful and convenient."

The ULSU Mobile App is available for download from the Apple, Android and Blackberry App stores.

Students' Union looking to go green on campus

trevor.kenney — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 17:45:58 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Students' Union is taking steps to make the campus a little more green.

Since fall 2010, ULSU Food Court vendors and the Zoo have been participating in a composting initiative brought together by some dedicated students, the ULSU Executive and General Assembly members. The composting initiative has now branched out to include Coulee Junction (CJ's), Fresh Express, Mr. Sub and Tim Hortons.

Composting is a natural process of recycling uncooked fruit and vegetable waste, coffee grinds and tea bags into a rich soil or fertilizer known as compost.

"Composting can be done in a number of different ways and serves as a great way to reduce your contribution to the waste stream by recycling yard and kitchen waste," says Taz Kassam, ULSU president. "It also provides a value added benefit to our land and can act as an aid in gardens, landscaping, horticulture and agriculture.

Vendors currently dispose their compostable waste in personal compost bins in the Students' Union building and ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ caretaking staff transport the compost to the boneyard – an open compost pile on the south end of campus. The grounds department then uses the finished product for various projects around campus.

"The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ needs a composting program because it is a fairly simple, yet extremely effective way at reducing the amount of waste we produce," says Zack Moline, ULSU General Assembly member and compost co-ordinator. "It feels good to think that most of the food waste produced at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, which used to rot in the landfill, is now being recycled and used for constructive purposes around campus."

This program is about to start a trial phase that will also include on-campus residences. The Piikani residence building in Aperture Park will have 48 personal compost bins placed in its suites.

"Getting students engaged in the composting program will be difficult, but will nonetheless be of vital importance," says Moline. "On the campus-wide scale, it will happen through an active marketing campaign with the ULSU, promoting the ease and benefits of composting."

The ULSU believes that with proper promotion, education and efficient management of the program, this trial phase can be expanded into the remaining buildings in Aperture Park.

For a look at the March issue of the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

ULSU to honour excellence in teaching

trevor.kenney — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 17:57:29 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Students' Union (ULSU) would like to formally recognize and honour teaching excellence at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

The Students' Union aims to do this by introducing the Teaching Excellence Award, allowing students an avenue for nominating a professor, sessional staff member or lab instructor who has shown outstanding efforts to increase the learning experience of their students.

"The Students' Union wants to recognize those individuals at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ who have had an impact on their students' academic career," says Taz Kassam, ULSU President. "We want to encourage all undergraduate students who have had an exceptional instructor in the 2010-2011 academic year to nominate these well deserved instructors for the Teaching Excellence Award."

The award is based solely on teaching excellence and will be presented to three instructors that meet the award criteria. All undergraduate students are eligible to nominate an instructor for the honour. A student who wishes to nominate an instructor will be required to complete a letter of support outlining how the nominee has demonstrated excellence in teaching. The nomination deadline is Feb. 28, 2011.

All nominations will be handed to a selection committee consisting of, the ULSU Vice-president Academic, five members of the ULSU General Assembly, and three students-at-large. The selection committee will then conduct additional research on each candidate, and in March the committee will decide which candidates will be receiving the award.

The winners will be formally recognized on Apr. 7, 2011 as part of the ULSU Last Lecture event.

"This is the first year that the Students' Union has offered this award to honour outstanding instructors at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, and we want to give students an opportunity to acknowledge their appreciation for the impact these individuals have on their students," says Kassam.

Students can visit www.ulsu.ca to download a nomination form and drop it off at the Students' Union Office by 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 28.

For a full look at the January issue of the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

ULSU by-election nominations open

trevor.kenney — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 17:19:24 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Students' Union (ULSU) will be holding an internal by-election to fill four vacancies in the General Assembly.

Positions to be filled include: Management Representative; First Nations, Metis, and Inuit Representative; Calgary Campus Representative; and Board of Governors Representative.

The nomination period for this by-election runs from Wednesday, Sept. 8 to Monday, Sept. 20 at 4 p.m. Nomination forms can be picked up at the Students' Union Office (SU180).

Candidates will be required to give a brief presentation to the ULSU General Assembly on Tuesday, Sept. 21 at 6 p.m. at the monthly meeting.

ULSU elections in the books

trevor.kenney — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 15:40:26 +0000

The battle for ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Students' Union president may have been a one-horse race but it didn't stop voters from casting ballots in the 2009-2010 ULSU executive council and general assembly election last week.

Over 21 per cent of students cast their votes in the election as a variety of roles were filled. Jeremy Girard ran unopposed as ULSU president and will take over office in May. He's excited about the upcoming challenge.

"I'm proud to serve as president in the upcoming year," says Girard. "The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge has a lot to offer to the community, and the Students' Union has a lot to offer to students."

Girard takes over from outgoing ULSU President, Adam Vossepoel.

"I'm confident the incoming executive team will lead the ULSU down the right path," says Vossepoel. "The organization and the interests of students are in very capable hands, and I leave my presidency with no apprehension about the future of the ULSU."

Following are the results from the 2009-2010 ULSU election.

2009‐2010 ULSU Executive Council: Jeremy Girard, President; Allan Hall, VP Administration; Alex Masse, VP Academic and Cole Lehto, VP Internal.

2009‐2010 ULSU General Assembly: Justine Foy, arts and science representative; Zack Moline, arts and science representative; Eric Hawthorne, arts and science representative; Willis Norrie, arts and science representative; Alecia Fraser, arts and science representative; Cayley Rauw, arts and science representative; Tyler Stewart, fine arts representative; Tyrell DaSilva, management representative; Michael Persinger, organization of residence students representative; Fwanyanga Mate, international representative; Melanie Sam, First Nations, Inuit Métis representative; Jenn Prosser, board of governors representative.

The newly‐elected council members assume their roles May 1, 2009 and remain in office through to Apr. 30, 2010.

UNews - ULSU General Assembly

ULSU charitable efforts laudable

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Food bank a valuable service

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SU events; there's an App for that

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Students' Union looking to go green on campus

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ULSU to honour excellence in teaching

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ULSU by-election nominations open

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ULSU elections in the books

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