It has been one eventful year! Your 2010-11
GSA Executive and Council have set the bar very high as over
2,500 students have participated in a GSA-related activity
over the past year - this makes 2010-11 one of our most
successful to date:
Some of the highlights included:
Helping stage two of the largest Concordia
student demonstrations in recent memory - Angry Week in June
2010 and the WHALE demonstration in February 2011. The
combined events saw over 1,500 Concordia students voicing
their concern over rising tuition fees. These actions both had
a direct impact as the University waived late fees for tuition
payments for one year and President Lowy had a frank and open
discussion in a long meeting with the Council.
Holding several successful social events and
have more on the way before the end of the ear (April 7th -
keep your calendars clear!) More than 600 students have taken
French classes and many more have found their creative side in
various art classes.
They have organized various stress management
seminars, ski trips, and weekend retreats - including an
upcoming Pecha Kucha!
Supported numerous on-campus initiatives
including the MBA Case Competition and the Annual Nowruz
Celebration.
Being an active presence on the Board of
Governors, Senate, and Faculty Councils pushed for widespread
internal governance review.
2011-12 will be a pivotal point in the
history of Concordia University as we begin to review
governance processes from the Board of Governors on down and
in the larger fight for accessible education in Quebec. This
is a rare opportunity to be part of a team dedicated to
democratic principles working on behalf of your community
during these historic moments. We need you to step up and use
your talents to make the GSA a better place.
To this end I am
happy to announce we are now accepting nominations for the following
positions
(We are also on Facebook
so please join and invite all of your friends.)
Executive:
1. President
2. Vice President External
3. Vice President Internal
Council of
Directors:
1. Directors of
Engineering
2. Directors of Fine
Arts
3. Directors of John
Molson School of Business
4. Directors of Arts and
Science
5. Director Specialized
Individual Program or Interdisciplinary
Nomination
Regulations:
In order to be considered
for a position candidates must be both current members of the
GSA as well as for the forthcoming academic year (Are you
currently registered in Grad school at Concordia? Did you pay
your tuition and fees in full for the Fall semester? Will you
next year? Then you are eligible) as outlined in the General
By-laws.
Candidates must also
adhere to the following nomination rules in addition to any
other provisions laid forth in the General and Election
By-laws of the GSA (They are both available on this page
below):
1. Candidates for
Executive positions must provide evidence of ten (10) current
GSA members who support their candidacy. At least two (2)
faculties must be represented among the ten names. Candidates
for Executive positions can be from any faculty.
2. Candidates for Council
position must provide evidence of of seven (7) current GSA
members who support their candidacy. Candidates for Director
must come from the faculty they wish to represent. (i.e. An
Arts and Science member cannot run for a position as Director
for Fine Arts)
3. We have provided a
convenient nomination form which must be used. It is attached
to this e-mail and physical copies are available at the GSA
house on 2030 MacKay Street.
4. The nomination period
will close Tuesday March 29th, 2011 at 5pm. All nomination
forms must be stamped by the GSA representative at the
administration desk on the second floor. You will be provided
with a receipt in the form of a photocopy of your original
nomination form.
Some common myths about being a
Faculty Director on Council:
1. It is time-consuming
and boring - The council meets once a month for approximately
two hours and while there are certainly other committees you
can become involved with that is at your discretion. Trust me
when I say that when you place 15 opinionated smart people in
one room and argue about how money should be spent it is
rarely boring...
2. Student Politics are
useless - Sure, if you think determining the use of over
250,000$ of student money, engaging in strategic actions to
pressure University administrators to freeze tuition,
participating in sustainable initiatives in the community,
helping student groups host
conferences and community
celebrations, and hosting some of the largest social events on
campus are useless...and those are just a few of the things
the current council did over the past year.
3. I have never run for
anything - As a member your opinion and contributions are
always valued, however this is an opportunity to hone your
public engagement and debate skills in a positive and
collegial environment. It also makes you talk about something
besides your thesis with people who are not your
supervisor.
4. Who cares? - Apathy
sucks, if anything is ever going to change it is probably not
going to happen because people join a facebook group or sign
an online petition - get involved, debate with fellow members
the choices and argue for the changes you feel would best suit
your faculty or department.
If you require any
further information please do not hesitate to contact me
at:
cro.gsa.2011@gmail.com
GSA general By-laws are
available here
By-laws for Election are
available here
Thank You,
Roddy Doucet
Chief Returning
Officer
Concordia Graduate
Student Association
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