UMSU runs a great food service outlet called Degrees.  Recently, Degrees move to biodegradable take-out containers from styrofoam.  When I did my food services research while on UMSU Council, one of the things I found was that cold drink cups could be made of corn.  The University of Guelph was already doing this back in 2004 and it is something that I still believe that the University of Manitoba should be doing. 

UMSU took this a lot further.  Clearly a lot of research was done by many people at UMSU to find containers for hot products.  Nicely done everyone at UMSU.

CBC News even has the story: Student diner goes green with biodegradable takeout boxes

I have a vote on the Silhouette Editorial Board as a member of the Silhouette Staff. Tomorrow, the Silhouette Editorial Board will be meeting. The agenda does include a vote on if the Silhouette will be endorsing a candidate for MSU President. If the Editorial Board decides to make an endorsement, then the decision must be made on who to endorse. I have decided that I will not be exercising my vote on this matter. I feel this is the best way of handling my vote at the present time as I am not yet far enough removed from direct involvement in MSU politics to remove the appearance of conflict in exercising my vote.
I am also trying to figure out if I will be putting an opinion piece in this week’s paper. I was going to do a story on happening at a certain SU but they story is not yet developed enough to cover. I may write about VFM at UBC. Titus has done a good job of covering VFM here:
http://www.studentunion.ca/2007/01/ubc-elections-experiment-in-voter.html
Correction: I do not have a vote. The previous editor thought this was the case. I am however, allowed to attend the Editorial Board meetings and speak.

Many people have expressed disappointment with me for following the MSU censorship guidelines. The MSU and University are looking for any excuse to crackdown on me, I am not giving them one. As a leader in the Movement for Democratic Reform of the MSU, I am a prime target. I cannot work on reform if I do not have MSU membership or if I get a complete ban from campus. People often say to me that I must pick the right battles, not just pick a battle because it is right.
Anyway, the MSU has yet to figure out a way to shutdown the internet. Considering that China has not either, you think they would be expecting students to discuss matters of the MSU state.
One of the members of the SRA has discovered that the MSU cannot revoke his membership for discussing the MSU election. In order to revoke his membership, he would have to be recalled first. Students want reform, students want democracy and would never recall a member that is fighting for students and is actually representing students.
Go to msuelection.blogspot.com only if you are not a McMaster Student.
If you are a McMaster student, remember that the MSU knows what is best for you and you are not to visit this website. The MSU has yet to install parental controls for us but they do know what is better for you.
To quote from the Silhouette:

The informant also paraphrased Drew Mitchell as saying, “if you are a parent and your child wants to eat only ice cream, you as an adult will know that this is not good for their health and as such would not allow it. In the same way SRA members must make decisions for their constituency, when they know it is in their best interest.”

(Quotes from the Silhouette are not a violation of the MSU censorship rules.)

The McMaster Students Union has a policy of censorship against students at McMaster University.  This is to prevent anyone not approved by the MSU Elections Committee (one of the last non-independent student union election processes in Canada) (incorrect, a lot of students union do not have independent elections – see comments) from speaking about the MSU election in a way that could “interfere” with the elections process.  The punishment for speaking about the MSU elections can included monetary penalties (fines), revoking of MSU membership (which means one must pay MSU fees in the hundreds of dollars because cannot get the so-called benefits of those fees), and potentially punishment under the Student Code of Conduct for harassment of the MSU.
As I have been threatened for my blog on numerous occasions and the MSU loves to file charges against me under the Student Code of Conduct, I have no choice but to obey the censorship of the MSU.  I ask that you obey the censorship as well.

I have been warned by MSU politicians that they will not tolerate any discussion of the MSU on the internet that is not approved by the elections committee. MSU politicians are in the majority on the committee.  One of them went so far as to warn me that I would be up for punishment for anything that appears on www.studentunion.ca! This because the MSU seems to believe that I have some sort of control over studentunion.ca or that I will merely send my information to be posted there.  I will not be doing so.  They are also concerned that someone could send information to www.studentunion.ca and bypass the MSU censorship.  It seems there is a problem with controling the internet for the MSU.  Damn internet and its free flow of information, how dare students be allowed to get their information from non-(state)approved sources especially independent student bloggers.

As such, I am asking all my McMaster readers to follow the censorship guidelines of the MSU.  I ask that you not email me at my email joey -at- joeycoleman.ca or the studentunion.ca tip email: titus.gregory -at- gmail.com with any information about the MSU elections.

Thank You!

http://radicalbeer.blogspot.com/2007/01/peets-admits-to-sex-and-abuse-of.html
Finally, A student politics sex scandal! I have been waiting to cover one of these!
lol

I regretably removed content from my site today.
I say this because I believe that my archives should not be removed. Sometimes I read them and go, what was I thinking? Actually, there are things I would love to remove.
Anyway:
I received a letter from the lawyer of Joey Hansen which the lawyer copyrighted so I cannot republish it here. Basically, the lawyer took the position that I would be libel along with Global News for Global’s coverage of the DSU issue if Mr. Hansen wins his case against Global News.
This due to my republication (by way of displaying them on my site from a third-party host) of the Global reports on my site therefore rebroadcasting the libel if it is found to be libel.
Therefore, I have removed the display of them from my site to protect myself.
I do not know who uploaded them and have no control over the fact they are out on the internet.
I am not intenting to shy away from journalistic coverage of this issue. The allegations made by the forsenic audit at DSU are very serious in nature and are presently before the courts.
I will cover the court case as best I can from Ontario.
I am watching for any further reports on the New Westminister Police investigation into the DSU situation as well.
I am not shying away from coverage of this issue, I will report as best I can.
I do not know what the outcome of all of this will be. I look forward to reporting Mr. Hansen side of the case and am very interested in what is said. This is a major news story and will have a national effect for students unions.
Canadian Law on internet journalism is not clear at the present time. I cannot afford to fight a suit and still pay for school. My priority is school, this is why I have removed the content from being viewed directly on my site.
I also have been informed of a possible reason why there is vemon between The Other Press and The Peak. It seems that a former editor of The Other Press is now at The Peak.

January 17, 2007
Mr. Matt Leisle
Chair, University Students’ Council, USSU
Rm. 65, Place Riel
1 Campus Drive
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
S7N 5A3

Dear Mr. Leisle, Councilors, USSU Executive

I am writing the members of the University Students Council of the University of Saskatchewan ’s Student Union in order to resign from my position as the representative from Law. While I take great pride in the role which I have played in this year’s council and the work that this body has accomplished together, recent events have caused me to lose faith in the motivation and intent of this year’s Executive to such an extent that I can no longer find it appropriate to continue in my role.

On January 2, 2007, the entire USSU Executive signed a formal letter of complaint directed to the Code of Ethics Disciplinary Committee. In this complaint, signed by all five members of the Executive, I was accused of failing to maintain the integrity, confidence and dignity of the office which I fill. The conduct in question surrounded a series of comments where I strongly criticized the Executive for failing to sufficiently research and provide information for council in order to ensure the occurrence of fair, responsible, and accountable decision making. This complaint, while now dismissed by the CEDC, has raised serious concerns in the accountability and transparency of the USSU’s current Executive.

I believe by acting unanimously, the Executive has severely undermined the democratic nature of the USSU. The USSU is a union based on student representation and involvement. It relies on mandatory student fees from a population which is heavily burdened with debt and who is often relatively unaware of where and how their money is being spent. Debate, critique, and cooperation between councillors and the Executive is vital in ensuring the Union is managed in a manner which is best for students. By reacting as they have to critical review, the Executive has severely risked the trust that students put into the USSU institution. I believe that this complaint is an effort to quell student criticism without addressing the core concerns which are raised. This type of response is extremely detrimental to the USSU’s transparency and belittles the duty which this union owes its students.

This reaction is only one more outward example of the serious state of disrepair the USSU currently is in. Throughout this entire year, I believe that the Executive has mismanaged its affairs, has attempted to overpower the USC, and has managed the control of information in order to ensure their decisions will be supported. The entire Blackberry incident, while minute in a budgetary sense, epitomizes the current Executive’s decision making process. Decision’s are made and bought into prior to being presented at the USC table and the Executive will seemingly do anything to garner the support needed to move ahead, no matter the legitimacy of the concerns raised by Councillors.

While this year’s Executive has taken advantage of the lack of institutional memory or guidance to the fullest extent, the problems within the USSU run much deeper. Seemingly, scandal is an annual event for this institution, and much to the surprise of U of S students, this is not the status quo for university unions and councils across the country. While USSU scandal may seem inconsequential to the general student population, these student executives are spending student money, are representing students to both the university administration and provincial and federal politicians, and are controlling much of the student support services available on campus. Across Canada , student unions are working towards lowering student fees, focusing their services, and developing strong corporate governance systems in order to better serve and represent their students. Alternately, this year’s Executive has yet again been forced to spend a large amount of time reacting to scandal, be it a presidential resignation, a lawsuit paid for on the backs of students, or a miscommunicated hardware upgrade. The outcome will be the conclusion of yet another year of student politics without any institutional growth. U of S students need to recognize how unhealthy the union to which they are forced to financially support is and must start actively encouraging the development of mechanisms to ensure change.

I do not believe that removing one of the many voices on the USC which held the Executive up to a professional standard is an appropriate first step. My resignation may seem counter-intuitive as this letter will hopefully act as a call to action, but I do believe my voice was no longer resonating with the Executive. Students are currently risking a potential fee increase of more that $150 next year depending on the outcome of further council discussions. I feel like it is important to ask whether it is appropriate to continue to support the mandate of an Executive on whom student concerns seem to fall on deaf ears. U of S students must take an active role in guiding their students’ union; critical and cooperative involvement is the only effective mechanism to ensure that its actions reflect current student need.

I appreciate the opportunity to voice my concerns and would also like to thank all the councillors for their dedication to the students which they represent.

Alison Forbes

Get that?   The MSU is not actually allowing students to vote on our OUSA membership, only if we are going to pay for that membership.  The vote is being held with less than 90 days notice which means that we cannot actually pull out because a vote that could result in the MSU leaving OUSA requires 90 days notice to OUSA of the vote including the question that will be asked.

Basically, after doing nothing all year, the MSU Board of Directors is trying to make it look like they are doing something and care about student opinion.

I am still trying to figure out how the vote has no effect upon McMaster’s OUSA membership but could discontinue the fee.  Actually, I have a great idea for a referendum: ”Are you in favour of paying over $300 dollars to the MSU?” this question shall not effect your MSU membership, health plan, or bus pass!  Come on MSU, you cannot separate the fee from the membership.

The following questions have been asked of the MSU Speaker:

REQUEST FOR RULINGS
(1) On November 26, 2006, the SRA acted under its constitutional authority to initiate a referendum to ask MSU members whether they want to continue paying the OUSA membership fee. As a result of the adoption of that motion, the Election Committee is required to administer the referendum concurrent with the 2007 MSU presidential election. The MSU Constitution states that referenda results are binding on the SRA. Would a vote by students to discontinue paying OUSA fees require the SRA to take whatever steps are necessary to withdraw from OUSA at the earliest opportunity?

(2) OUSA bylaws and the OUSA-MSU membership agreement require 90-days notice (by Registered Mail) of a membership withdrawal vote. The MSU president told the SRA on November 26 that the referendum was on whether to continue the fee, not about withdrawing from OUSA. Given that payment of fees are a condition of OUSA membership, can a decision about paying fees be realistically separated from the consequence (i.e. membership withdrawal)?

(3) The MSU joined OUSA by resolution of the SRA in January 2000. It would be in order for a motion to withdraw from OUSA to be held at the SRA. As a contingency measure, would it be in order to serve 90 days notice to OUSA (by Registered Mail) of an SRA vote (exact motion wording, date, time, and place of the vote), so that the SRA would have the OPTION to withdraw by the end of the fiscal year IF the MSU membership so directed in the referendum?

(4) If failure to serve notice and execute a withdrawal motion by a specified deadline resulted in the MSU having to pay full OUSA membership fees in 2007-2008, would the SRA and the MSU’s officers have failed in their constitutional responsibility to give timely effect to a binding resolution from a MSU membership referendum?

Okay, first: The reason I am posting this is because I feel that this letter could easily fit at most campuses in Canada and refer to almost any student union leadership. I can tell you that I have never seen this year’s MSU Executive take the bus. Frankly, it is very rare for me to see a member of the SRA use the bus. Probably explains why they consistently opposed any improvements to the buses this year. Of course, now that Drew Mitchell wants votes, he suddenly cares about transit with a pie in the sky promise that he will never actually implement.

Student to Exec: You suck

Dear Ashlee and the USSU Executive,

After reading the Sheaf, it has come to my attention that riding the bus is good for the environment and something all students should do.
Apparently, I should vote in favour of a hundred (or so) dollar fee so that everyone will be more likely to ride the bus, thus saving the polar bears.

I have a simple offer: I will if you will. How many USSU Exec members ride the bus? My last count was zero. In fact, zero for the past two years and most likely longer. Rather than being leaders in environmentally friendly transit, the USSU Exec are given guaranteed parking spots in the best lot on campus.

I will vote in favour of the UPass if (and only if) each and every member of the USSU Executive surrenders his or her parking pass to take advantage of the amazing service offered by Saskatoon Transit. Until the Exec is willing to put its actions where its mouth is, I’ll vote no. Stop telling me what’s good for me. Start showing me.

Sincerely,
Anna Cole,
4th Year Civil Engineering Student

Speaking of promises and Drew Mitchell…….. I remember something about his appointment at the SRA to VP Finance where he said he was going to give monthly reports including financial figures to the SRA. I guess he continues the MSU tradition of getting appointed Vice-President (the VPs are not elected by the student body), moving into the MSU office, removing oneself completely from the student body, promptly forgetting about your promises and then doing nothing or next to nothing expect pre-campaigning for President.

Disappointing as well. Too much hype, no sizzle.