I get this question all the time. People come up to me and ask, “Hey Justin, what exactly does the SU do for me?”. Well here’s an (almost) completely comprehensive list of everything the SU does. It’s pretty long so grab a drink,
settle in, and enjoy!
Activities and Events
- Orientation Week, including Kick-Off Tailgate Party (SU participates, ran by Alumni Association)
- Clubs Week(s)
- Clubs Survival Seminar(s)
- Clubs Awards Banquet
- Clubs Leadership Summit
- Undergraduate Research Symposium
- Teaching Excellence Awards
- Cinemania Weekly Movie Night
- Yoga in the Space
- Deans Dinner
- Hunger Week
- Holiday Food Drive
- Nogfest and Nogfest Cabaret
- Frostbite
- Faculty Wars (dodgeball tournies)
- Out and About with Q
- Sex Week
- TEDx UofC
- The Hamper Project
- Bermuda Shorts Day
- Colour Night
- Leaders Hall
External and Institutional Advocacy Efforts / Campaigns
- Safe and Affordable Housing / Legalization of Secondary Suites
- Get Out the Vote – provincial election involvement campaign
- Election Act reforms (provincial)
- Eyes High and Academic Plan-UofC strategic directions and involvement
- Institutional Teaching and Learning Plan / Instructional Learning Spaces
- Academic Material
- NSSE/USRI promotion (teaching evaluation)
- Open Access
- Access Copyright / Bill 11 fair dealing exemption
- Tuition consultation / market modifiers / mandatory non-instructional fees
- Student Financial Aid
Programs and Services
- Locker Program
- Tutor Registry online service
- Off Campus Housing online service
- Quality Money Program and Campus Improvement Fund (e.g., SUperwork, plus annual award and report administration)
- Refugee Student Program (sponsored student administration and support)
- Travel and Conference Fund
- Online Exam Bank
- Campus Partnerships Program
- Hardship Fund
- Student Health and Benefit Plan
- Adopt-a-Family Program Ombuds Office (SU provides over $30,000 p.a. in financial support)
- Safewalk (SU provides $12,000 p.a. in financial support
Plus Volunteer Services
- Campus Food Bank
- Administrative Volunteer Program
- Into the Streets
- Students for Literacy
- Q-Centre
- Volunteer Tax Program
- Information Centre / Lost & Found
- Dr. Seuss in the Park
- Calgary Serves International (international volunteer experience)
- Alternative Spring Break
Sustainability Initiatives
- Fair Trade SU / Fair Trade Campus
- MacHall Compost
- Den pre-consumer waste composting
- Bound & Copied Cloth Bag Program
- NUTV – Green Lite Festival Grant
- Month-end Financials Software – Digital Reports
- Office Motion Sensor Light Switches
- Digital Messaging Boards
- Water bottle filling stations/drinking fountains (three in MSC)
- Low flow office washroom fixtures
- Den recycling – cooking oil and mercury light bulbs
- MSC renovation waste – all demoed materials are recycled where they can be (e.g., wood, metals, glass)
Businesses – all profits from businesses are re-invested back into the Students’ Union and allow us to continue to provide great student programs and services
MacEwan Student Centre
- Home of the SU, including retail services, food court tenants, university services, concert hall, and the SU’s conference and event centre.
- As the building manager the SU strives to provide a clean and safe building environment, and provides food court cleaning services, and administers the recycling programs for MSC and other areas of campus.
- The SU also manages space redevelopment projects for tenants, the SU itself, and various university departments as requested.
- The SU has leasehold operating agreements with 16 food court tenants and as many retail/service businesses, including health, dental, pharmacy and optometry tenants.
Various recent or current redevelopment projects include:
- First floor addition of clubs space
- Relocation and redevelopment of That Empty Space and storage space
- Second floor infrastructure for four new food outlets (Korean BBQ, Umi Sushi Express, Curry & Grill and Fuel for Gold)
- Purchase of additional food court seating bringing capacity to 1,020
- Q’Centre for Sexual and Gender Diversity
- Improvements to the Volunteer Services Offices/Campus Food Bank space
- Third floor atrium North and South seating circles – six new flush mount floor plugs were installed creating a much better study space; couches were purchased earlier in the year.
- Campus Vision – new optometrist office
- Renovations of all current food court outlets including the installation of new fire shutters and updated signage
- Modernization / renovation of individual food court tenant space -A&W, Pita on the Run, Kobe Beef, and La Prep
- Improvements to alarm systems to improve building safety
- HVAC system upgrades in the Ballroom
Upcoming Summer 2012 Projects:
- Modernization/renovation of individual food court tenant space – Oriental Wok, Noodle and Grill
- Renovation and enlargement of the Stor
- Improvements to Black Lounge bar and kitchen areas
- Info Centre renovation
Den and Black Lounge
- The SU-owned and professionally managed Den has been a student tradition for more than 40 years and focuses on offering great food and beverages at student-friendly prices in a relaxed, comfortable and safe atmosphere for patrons.
- The Den and Black Lounge are a regular hot spot for students with two floors of food, beverages, dance and fun offering indoor dining, relaxing on the patio or private partying in the Red Room.
- Thursden at The Den continues to be “the” social activity on campus for students.
MacEwan Events Centre
- Features 20,000 square feet of dedicated function and event space, including an 8,775 square foot hall and a 6,000 square foot ballroom with nine additional function rooms and breakout spaces, most with natural lighting. The Centre also has an additional 20,000 square feet of open concept spaces.
- Hosts a multitude of events including large conferences, tradeshows, meetings, holiday parties, weddings, television productions and concerts.
- Provides hundreds of hours of free space to accommodate student club events and meetings each year.
- Rents table space in the MSC to provide non-profits, student clubs, university organizations and external vendors access to the student market.
Concerts (aka MacHall and Ballroom)
- SU-operated Mac Hall is one of Alberta’s biggest and best concert venues, having hosted hundreds of chart breaking artists from all corners of the entertainment world and attracting both on- and off-campus clients.
Retail Services
- The Stor (a convenience store with student friendly pricing)
- Bound & Copied (used book consignment service and copy centre)
Scholarships and Awards
- Ray Alward Memorial Bursary-one annual $500 award
- A.W.R. Carrothers Scholarship – one annual $500 award
- W.A. Cochrane Bursary-one annual $500 award
- Andrew Kirkor Memorial Bursary – one annual $1,500 award
- Ian McKinnon Bursary- one annual $500 award
- W.F.M. Stewart Bursary-one annual $500 award
- Students’ Union Women in the 90′s Bursary – one annual $500 award
- Gordon C. Swann Bursary – one annual $500 award
- Eric Lahoda Club Awards – ten annual $1,000 awards
- Campus Involvement Awards – seven annual $1,000 awards
- Dr. Peggy Patterson Bursary-two annual $3,000 awards
Some award amounts fluctuate annually as endowed funds are subject to the ups and downs of the current investment cycle.
Student Government / Executive / Legislative
- Annual SU Survey
- SLC meeting administration
- General committee administration (internal)
- Policy analysis and committee support
- Governance administration (constitution, bylaws, procedures, etc.)
- Advocacy support (external and institutional)
- Election / CRO support (by-election and general election)
- Plan all of our retreats, transitions and all of the behind the scenes stuff that keeps us moving
- Clubs System Support and Administration: administer funding requests, organize club events, book meeting rooms, process new clubs sanctioning requests, intake re individual club events and waiver administration, process annual reports, etc.
Marketing and Communications
- The Loop-digital messaging/ electronic bulletin board network
- Weekly Gauntlet advertising
- Marketing of student services, programs, activities and campaign promotion and support for advocacy initiatives
- Production of Annual Report to the Community and BOG and Senate reports
- SU Website and maintenance and administration
- SU Events Facebook Site maintenance
- SU Twitter Account maintenance
- Sponsorship and Advertising Program
Campus Community Partner
- The SU annually partners with university organizations, faculties and departments to build events and activities for students. Examples include: Orientation Week, Alumni Relations for the Graduating This Year Events, U of C Open House (SU hosts a popular booth), It Gets Better Campaign, FrostBite, Last Lecture
- Through the formal SU partnership program, the SU provides a range of financial, communications and in-kind support. Over $59,000 worth of support was provided to assist student and university activities this past year;
- The SU supported and sometimes co-managed events with Student and Enrolment
- Services providing in excess of $40,000 in financial support last year.
- The SU financially supported university department programs, including Safewalk, Chaplains, the Women’s’ Resource Centre and others with contributions exceeding $22,000.
- The SU supported Alumni and Graduating This Year activities with a total contribution exceeding $4,000.
- The SU sponsored over $3,000 of in-kind gifts for various NUTV activities
- The SU provided significant in-kind support to university departments and organizations and students by offering the complimentary use of rooms in the MacEwan Event Centre and complimentary display tables in the Student Centre. This support is offered to numerous departments and organizations within Student and Enrolment Services, such as Career Services, the Native Centre, the Women’s Resource Centre and the Centre for International Studies as well the Residence Students’ Association, Dino Athletics and members of the Tri-Media group.
SU Quality Money Program Support - annual $1.6M in funding distributed by SU Quality Money Committee. Examples of successful awards include:
- SU Wellness Centre
- Co-Curricular Records
- Teaching and Learning Centre Programs
- Writers’ Blocks
- Academic Competitions Fund
- Information Commons Computers
- Claim Your Seat – free student admission to drama, music and arts events
- Campus Improvement Fund (faculty specific funding)
- Bicycle Root Community Bike Shop - $7,050.00
- Career Services Centre Programs
- See http://www.su.ucalgary.ca/page/quality-education/finance-and-awards for more info
Fee Management
- As per previous student referendums, the SU continues to collect and disburse fees to organizations such as NUTV, The Gauntlet, Student Legal Assistance, and CJSW, based on submission and acceptance of their annual reports.
- The SU also collects a Library Assistance Fee to fund an endowment for the annual purchase of student learning materials.
- The SU administers a fee on behalf of the Refugee Student Program.
- Students contribute a small fee to both the Committee of 10,000 (supporting Calgary community charities), as well as SU Volunteer Services which helps subsidize volunteer operations such as the Campus Food Bank.
- Students have the choice to opt out of the SU Health and Dental Plan Fee which provides students with a comprehensive set of health insurance benefits, supplementary to any provincial health care plan.
- Students can pay an optional Student Peer Assistance Bursary Fee which creates bursaries for students in proven financial need.
So in short, we do a lot of things. Hopefully you found this list interesting and informative. As usual, if you have any questions, shoot me off an email at haskayne1@su.ucalgary.ca. Till next time!
Justin
Adapted from: 70th SLC orientation presentation
