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SAMANTHA POWER
GRASDAL'S VUE
// SAMANTHA@VUEWEEKLY.COM
Campus democracy
This past Monday the University of Alberta released information on a drastic restructuring of the university residence, Lister Hall. The changes announced by the University of Alberta administration affect who can live in Lister, how Lister elects its representatives and how students organize their living situation. It's not an obvious choice for public comment or debate outside of a campus environment, but the University administration's decision, and the process by which it happened, is indicative of the type of environment the administration is attempting to create on campus. Students and the university have established various committees with student seats, which develop policy on student issues from food prices to building new recreation centres. There is a developed culture of consultation on campus. The LHSA is an elected body. It works with the University of Alberta Students' Union (representing the general student population), Residence Services, and the university administration to ensure the needs of residence students are met. Elected residence representatives carry substantial weight. The current changes the university is proposing changes the employment conditions of 46 students who currently work for both the LHSA and the University, which students took as a sign of cooperation between the
two bodies. Now the University is offering money to these employees to work solely for the administration and not the LHSA. As well, as the University is removing the ability of returning students to live in Lister, the future of the elected representatives of the LHSA and their capacity to represent students in that residence is unknown. So too is the ability of residence students to then be represented at a university level in governance decisions. The University of Alberta made these decisions without consulting students, without using the established channels of debate and discussion and the result of these decisions removes the power of elected student representatives. These actions demonstrate a lack of interest in student issues and representation. Students at the University of Alberta, much like Albertans themselves, are generally more keen to participate in consultations and committees, than protests. If the possibility of advocacy and consultation exists, that is usually the road chosen, but when the University acts with deliberate disregard for student concerns, it is making the choice to exclude students from established democratic consultation processes. At that point, what choice do students have to be heard? V
NEWSROUNDUP OUT IN THE COLD The University of Alberta has made drastic changes to its residence system without consulting students through established processes. Lister Hall, one of the largest residences in Canada, will no longer employ students as elected residence respresentatives, alcohol has been banned in common spaces, and Lister will become a first year-only residence. Students are supposed to be consulted through a memorandum of understanding which was signed in 2009, as well, elected representatives of the Lister Hall Students'
IGNORING THE ENVIRONMENT The Senate energy committee has released a new report which climate advocates are saying ignores current information on tar sands, fracking and the Fukushima disaster. Now or Never: Canada Must Act Urgently to Seize its Place in the New Energy World Order is meant to outline a vision for Canada's energy future. The plan focuses on nation-building
SAMANTHA POWER // SAMANTHA@VUEWEEKLY.COM
Association and the University of Alberta Students' Union are usually reguarly consulted on issues of governance and residence policy but were never given an opportunity to respond to any of the changes currently underway. "Lister's democratic system of having student representatives elected and accountable to the students they serve has been an important cultural aspect of the residence, and one of the key reasons that Lister has been so successful," said LHSA President Eric Martin. The Students' Union has stated its concern that the current changes effectively disempower the elected
representatives of the Lister Hall Students' Association. Staff members with the LHSA are currently being offered money to work solely for the University in residence. "The U of A's actions directly contradict the Minister of Enterprise and Advanced Education's commitment to consult with student leaders and listen to student concerns on issues that affect them. These actions are gravely disappointing—it has become clear that students aren't receiving the same level of respect or consultation from university officials." said Students' Union President Colten Yamagishi.
through energy infrastructure which it defines as expanding and modernizing oil and gas pipelines, putting natural gas at the centre of Canada's energy future and maintain a strong nuclear industry. The Council of Canadians believes this plan ignores evidence that natural gas is not the "clean" energy it's purported to be and fails to examine evidence regarding the safety of fracking. "Not only does this report gloss over
the environmental and human impacts of fossil fuels, the authors of the report even admit on page 2 that the report is completely detached from the reality of climate change," says Maryam Adrangi, Energy and Climate Justice campaigner for the Council of Canadians. "How can you write a report on Canada's energy future that ignores the climate crisis and the need to transition off of fossil fuels? Are we supposed to take this seriously?"
An inner city barbeque organized by a coalition of inner city organizations was held in Giovanni Caboto Park July 20 // Paula Kirman
VUEWEEKLY JULY 26 – AUGUST 1, 2012
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