Male Directors

• Joe Zelezny – Treasurer
• Andrew Fergusson – Internal Relations Officer
• Jonathan Brockman – At-Large Representative
• Graham Hiscocks – Applied Science Representative
• Anton Bezglasnyy – Arts Representative
• Karan Cheema – Business Representative
• Todd McDonald – Education Representative (elected nov 09)
• James McNish – Environment Representative (elected nov 09)

Female Directors

• Ada Nadison – President
• Alysia MacGrotty – External Relations Officer
• Chantelle Chand – Science Representative
• Hannah Yoshime – FCAT Representative (elected nov 09)
• Mona Law – Member Services Officer
• Shara Lee – University Relations Officer
• Winnie Chung – At-Large Representative

SFSS means Simon Fraser Student Society.  It is a lobbying organization registered under the Society Act in British Columbia.  You are a member if you are taking an undergraduate course at Simon Fraser University.  You may find the contact information of your directors online on the SFSS website.  The Simon Fraser Student Society is responsible for programs such as the U-Pass, Health Care Plan, and almost anything that has to do with students on campus excluding academics.

Each year in March, new executives are voted in through a General Election conducted by the SFSS Independent Electoral Commission.  Since 2009 March, the Board of Directors of the Simon Fraser Student Society decided to conduct all elections online.  You may vote for all executive positions (President, Treasurer, Officer positions).  You may only vote for faculty positions only if you are (a) taking a course in that faculty, (b) declared major, minor, honours, extended minor, (c) currently declared as “general studies” in the faculty.  You may vote in more than one faculty, as long as you fulfill the requirements.  If you wish to run for a position, you must be a registered student and be in the faculty that you are running in (the latter applies to faculty positions).

The polls will close on Friday, December 11, 2009 at 11:59 pm!

Please note that this is not a referendum question and has no legal effect and is not affiliated with Translink, Simon Fraser University or Simon Fraser Student Society.

Canada

• 2006 – 4,400
• 2007 – 4,558
• 2008 – 4,724

British Columbia

• 2006 – 4,740
• 2007 – 4,922
• 2008 – 5,040

Alberta

• 2006 – 4,763
• 2007 – 5,122
• 2008 – 5,361

Saskatchewan

• 2006 – 4,774
• 2007 – 5,015
• 2008 – 5,015

Manitoba

• 2006 – 3,319
• 2007 – 3,271
• 2008 – 3,276

Ontario

• 2006 – 5,155
• 2007 – 5,388
• 2008 – 5,643

Quebec

• 2006 – 1,932
• 2007 – 2,056
• 2008 – 2,167

New Brunswick

• 2006 – 5,470
• 2007 – 5,590
• 2008 – 5,590

Nova Scotia

• 2006 – 6,422
• 2007 – 6,110
• 2008 – 5,932

Prince Edward Island

• 2006 – 4,920
• 2007 – 4,440
• 2008 – 4,530

Newfoundland and Labrador

• 2006 – 2,633
• 2007 – 2,632
• 2008 – 2,632

These questions are placed concurrently on the online ballot with the SFSS Election period, set for 17-19 March 2009.

Active Undergraduate students who wish to register a “yes” or “no” side have until Thursday Noon, 26 February 2009. For more information on registering a campaign please contact the Independent Electoral Commission: elections@sfss.ca or through their website, http://elections.sfss.ca

Question 1: Increase in CJSF Fee

Whereas CJSF Radio is a student-supported radio service providing free training to student and community volunteers in broadcasting and journalism and has not had an increase in fee levy in over 12 years, and

Whereas CJSF would like to improve its service and accessibility to students by establishing a satellite studio in conjunction with the W2 project adjacent to the new downtown SFU Contemporary Arts campus, and

Whereas CJSF requires national advocacy support for issues such as CRTC regulation and copyright via a strong student radio movement and the National Campus/Community Radio Association

Do you agree to an increase of 75 cents per full-time students (38 cents per part-time student) on the current $3.00 ($1.50 per part-time students) allocated to the campus radio station; with 25 cents of this increase (13 cents per part-time students) going to the National Campus and Community Radio Association?

Question 2: Society Affiliations

Whereas last March 66% of SFU students who voted chose to leave the Canadian Federation of Students; and

Whereas membership in said organisation was a toxic and problematic arrangement; and

Whereas the Canadian Federation of Students is an ineffective organisation;

Do you agree to the following, in order for the Simon Fraser Student Society to avoid entering into a binding contract with an extra-univerisity student association/federation or society for at least the next five years, that,

1) No SFSS Board of Directors or meeting of Forum can vote to reinstate or acquire membership in an extra-university student association or other similar body

2) That the Simon Fraser Student Society will remain independent of any extra-university association or similar body for at least the next five years

By Law Change 1: Updating External Relations Officer Position Description
Whereas SFU undergraduates are no longer members of the Canadian Federation of Students and therefore, there is no need for us to have a liaison to this body:

Do you agree to amend By-Law 4. (1.) (c.) to read “Act as a liaison between the Society, and other student unions,” and thus remove reference to the Canadian Federation of Students?

By Law Change 2: Prevention of Outside Interference in Elections
Whereas it’s annoying enough having to deal with SFU undergraduates pushing their wares on you without non-SFU undergraduates engaging in the same annoying tactics; and

Whereas it’s against current election policy to allow outside campaigners to interfere in SFSS elections; therefore,

Do you agree to the addition of By-Law 14 (15) (b.) which reads; “Only Members of the Simon Fraser Student Society may campaign for or on behalf of candidates or referenda during any election period,”?

By-Law Change 3: Democratic Reform to SFSS Forum

Whereas SFSS Forum is an advisory body to the Board of Directors and therefore it makes no sense that directors have a vote on said body; therefore

Do you agree to the following By-Law amendments in order to give forum an independent voice?

Delete By-Law 7 (2) (a.) and rearrange all following clauses of By-Law 7 accordingly, this currently reads “Forum shall consist of: a. The members of the Board.”

Add By-Law 7 (5) to read, “Notwithstanding By-Law 7 (2) members of the Board of Directors shall be honorary members of Forum as referenced in By-Law 1.”

By-Law Change 4: Accountability in External Provincial and National Student Organisations

Whereas membership in external provincial and national student organisations in the past has been subject to dubious standards of accountability; and

Whereas external provincial and national organisations have limited the constitutional charter rights of undergraduate students to freedom of association; therefore,

Do you agree to the creation of By-Law 22 and amendments to By-Law 17 as written in “Appendix A” setting standards of accountability for membership in external national and provincial student organisations?

Appendix A: Accountability in External Provincial and National Student Organisations
[Creation of] By-Law 22: Accountability in External Provincial and National Student Organisations
1. The Society may become a member of a provincial or national student organisation that requires the Society or its members to pay a membership fee to that organisation, but only if the Society and the organisation enter into a binding, written agreement, which will remain in effect as long as the Society is a member of the organisation. The agreement must guarantee the following:

a. The Society’s membership in the organisation does not preclude the Society’s membership in other organisations.

b. The organisation will make its by-laws, policies and minutes available online to all members of the Society within three (3) months of their approval.

c. The organisation will, within two (2) months of receipt of a written request from any member of the Society, provide to them a copy of any document in care or control of the organisation not lawfully required to be kept private.

d. The organisation recognizes that the Society reserves the right to terminate its membership in the organisation according to the Society’s by-laws and policy and according to any of the following procedures:

i) by resolution of the Board if the Society joined the organisation by resolution of the Board;

ii) by resolution of a General Meeting if the Society joined the organisation by resolution of the Board or by resolution of a General Meeting; or

iii) by referendum in any case conducted in accordance with By-Law 17.

2. If the Society terminates its membership in an organisation as described in By-Law 22(1) by any means other than referendum, and if the Society normally collects a membership fee from its members on behalf of that organisation and remits it to that organisation, then the Society will immediately cease collecting fees.

3. If a resolution is put to referendum to terminate the Society’s membership in an organisation as described in By-Law 22(1), and if the Society normally collects a membership fee from its members on behalf of that organisation and remits it to that organisation, then a resolution to cease collecting the membership fee shall be automatically put to referendum according to By-Law 17 to occur concurrently with the referendum on ceasing membership in the organisation.

By-Law 17 (3) amended to read:

Resolutions may be put to referendum by a simple majority vote of the Board or Forum, except where prohibited by these By-Laws, or upon presentation of a petition to the Board which contains the text of the proposed resolution and the signatures of five percent of the members in good standing of the Society, or according to By-Law 22(1)(d) or By-Law 22(3).

Rank Rank
2008 2007 INSTITUTION NAME COUNTRY
1 1 HARVARD University United States
2 2= YALE University United States
3 2= University of CAMBRIDGE United Kingdom
4 2= University of OXFORD United Kingdom
5 7= CALIFORNIA Institute of Technology (Caltech) United States
6 5 IMPERIAL College London United Kingdom
7 9 UCL (University College London) United Kingdom
8 7= University of CHICAGO United States
9 10 MASSACHUSETTS Institute of Technology (MIT) United States
10 11 COLUMBIA University United States
11 14 University of PENNSYLVANIA United States
12 6 PRINCETON University United States
13= 13 DUKE University United States
13= 15 JOHNS HOPKINS University United States
15 20= CORNELL University United States
16 16 AUSTRALIAN National University Australia
17 19 STANFORD University United States
18 38= University of MICHIGAN United States
19 17 University of TOKYO Japan
20 12 MCGILL University Canada
21 20= CARNEGIE MELLON University United States
22 24 KING’S College London United Kingdom
23 23 University of EDINBURGH United Kingdom
24 42 ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) Switzerland
25 25 KYOTO University Japan
26 18 University of HONG KONG Hong Kong
27 32 BROWN University United States
28 26 École Normale Supérieure, PARIS France
29 30 University of MANCHESTER United Kingdom
30= 41 University of CALIFORNIA, Los Angeles (UCLA) United States
30= 33= National University of SINGAPORE Singapore
32 37 University of BRISTOL United Kingdom
33 29 NORTHWESTERN University United States
34= 33= University of BRITISH COLUMBIA Canada
34= 28 ÉCOLE POLYTECHNIQUE France
36 22 University of California, BERKELEY United States
37 31 The University of SYDNEY Australia
38 27 The University of MELBOURNE Australia
39 53= HONG KONG University of Science & Technology Hong Kong
40 49 NEW YORK University (NYU) United States
41 45 University of TORONTO Canada
42 38= The CHINESE University of Hong Kong Hong Kong
43 33= University of QUEENSLAND Australia
44 46 OSAKA University Japan
45 44 University of NEW SOUTH WALES Australia
46 47 BOSTON University United States
47 43 MONASH University Australia
48 93= University of COPENHAGEN Denmark
49 53= TRINITY College Dublin Ireland
50= 117= Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de LAUSANNE Switzerland
50= 36 PEKING University China
50= 51= SEOUL National University Korea, South

Source: The Vancouver Sun

Coast Mountain was only able to make minor adjustments yesterday, putting on some extra buses from Production Way to Simon Fraser University and from Metrotown to Capilano University.

Source: The Vancouver Sun

But there were still passups, particularly on the No. 143 from Coquitlam to SFU, on the No. 25 from Brentwood to UBC and on the No. 44 from downtown to UBC.

Source: The Vancouver Sun

When you try to pay your tuition on http://go.sfu.ca/, it will not let you.

That’s Right! For those of you who are currently registered as an undergraduate student or are coming into Simon Fraser University, you will realize a message that says “We regret to inform you that effective September 1st, 2008, the University will no longer be accepting credit cards for tuition and ancillary fees.” on your enrollment appointment email.

Simon Fraser University is currently facing (estimated) $15 million deficit. This is because the Government of British Columbia put a maximum on how much universities can increase their tuitions by, which is 2%. Also, due to the inflation, the amount that the Government of British Columbia funded a few years ago is not as much as the amount funded now because they have not kept in pace with the inflation. The University of British Columbia and the University of Victoria are also in the same situation.

Currently, the University is spending too much money on Credit Card payments for tuition. When you pay by credit card anywhere, the credit card company (such as VISA or Mastercard) takes a percentage as processing fee. In this case, the credit card company is taking a percentage of your tuition to use as processing fee. The credit card company also charges the university for other fees. There are around 25,000 students at Simon Fraser University and if more than half of the students are taking more than 4 courses and are paying by credit card, then that would put the numbers in 7 figures).

In order to make up for the deficit, the University has decided to cut the credit card payment option for tuition (you can still use your credit card in the bookstore).

Not only are credit cards being removed from the University but tutorials, professor hours, amount of teaching assistants are being decreased. This is why Psychology doesn’t have anymore tutorial blocks.

Simon Fraser University is not the only university that is cutting the credit card processing feature. University of Alberta is doing it too [source] and they started on July 1, 2008.

If I remember correctly, a university in Alberta removed their credit card processing feature and a student paid their tuition at the school registrar using pennies.

This is bad news for those who are trying to get AirMiles .

Edit: I just received a message from Stephen Price from the Dean of Science office that “everyone still has the option of adding Simon Fraser University as a bill payee to their telephone or online banking account and paying that way (which is way better – no lines!).” He also provided a link for more information and that link can be reached here: http://students.sfu.ca/fees/howtopay/#tuition