The Cave Newspaper
BY THE CAVE HILL GUILD OF STUDENTS Volume 2 Issue 4 Saturday, March 26th 2022
“We all have moments where we would like to speak on a certain topic but never had a designated medium to share our opinions publicly. This column will be your safe space to voice your opinions on matters affecting you here at Cave Hill.”
MONTHLY RELEASE
“This is not high school. We the students of the Cave Hill campus are perfectly capable of managing ourselves. If you are not in support of our efforts to have elections, nor acknowledge our ability to organize events, then we will take our business elsewhere and leave you out of the loop. It is simple as that!”
THIS MESSAGE IS FOR THE OFFICE OF STUDENT SERVICES.
— i am a [ch] blackbird
i will say it with my [ch]est
AUTONOMOUS ? FEATURED STORY
As of recent, the Guild Council has been facing serious backlash from a number of the campus’ administrative entities in relation to the hosting of Guild Elections. For one office in particular, whose role was initially that of an advisor to the council, they have somewhat turned into a disabling unit who has occasionally suppressed the council’s moves. On Friday March 18th, an email was sent to members of the council stating that all student activities are to cease immediately with no anticipated date for resumption. The finale of the Faculty of Science week of activities as well as the Swim Program were the first to be affected since the email was sent on a Friday afternoon. It is important to note that these interruptions are neither spontaneous nor being seen for the first time. Earlier this semester, the Guild of Students waited weeks while student names were supposedly being verified for an online petition, just to be notified in the end that the entire petition
had been dismissed as the signatures would not be accepted by the relevant office verifying them. Students took to social media to question what authority said office had to even get involved in guild politics. Many complained that the process was illegitimate and should not be evaluated by any other entity besides the Guild Council. Weeks after the dust had settled, the council was hit yet again by another bar, just the weekend before its intended general election. The council was informed that they did not have permission from the student body to send up their information to the relevant medium which would be used to conduct
the elections. Considering this was the same medium used a year ago in the last elections, the council questioned what had changed. It was then made clear that a newly enforced policy prevented the sharing of students’ personal information. All there was left to wonder was why the office waited last minute to inform them on the policy when elections were only days away. To clear the air with the student body, an emergency conference was then held by the council which led to even more chaos. During the conference, various personnel from the responsible entities showed up in efforts to deflect blame and even embarrass the council. The student body, then recognizing where the real issues lay, expressed empathy and gave their support. Is this what student governance has come to? Will the autonomy of the Guild Council ever be respected again going forward? Proceed to page 2 to learn how the OSS does NOT respect us.
The Cave
The OSS ? Crude.
HELPFUL
TIPS FOR
SURVIVING
THE UWI REALISTIC CAVE HILL EDITION CAMPUS Tip #1: Catch the #3 ZR. A ZR van costs $3.50 and is available at almost any time. The very unreliable shuttle service is something students are no stranger to. With more shuttles and drivers than routes one would think the opposite.
So you should probably go out to some of the general public’s coming events, especially considering Crop Over is around the corner.
Tip #4: Embrace your hall. The best part about life on hall are the residents! Organize as many small socials as you can with the people Tip #2: Find a local gym. you live with. Who’s to stop The two year old COVID you from having fun in your excuse is still being used own shared space? to avert amenities which you still pay for. There’s no Tip #5: Move off of halls. reason to trust that the With everything that has relevant offices denying been said so far, the best proposals will listen and idea might even be to reopen the student gym. leave. You can’t miss out on campus amenities that Tip #3: Party on your aren’t available in the first place. Also, having your own terms. The possibility of hosting own free space that nobody events on campus wheth- can lock you in due to er it be a small social or COVID claims is a plus. Not club-based is currently 0. to mention working WiFi !
What is a Cave Hill Blackbird? Is it something to be proud about? For months now the Office of Student Services has stripped the Guild of Students of all our rights and left us out to dry. They have claimed that their doors are always open and willing to serve the students, however we the Guild Council have sent numerous emails requesting meetings to resolve issues, and have been denied every single time. The excuses included not having time to accommodate us in their “busy” schedule. Furthermore, the disrespectful responses received from the director herself have appalled the council to the point where we requested a meeting with the deputy principal directly. In this meeting, lo’ and behold, two members of the OSS showed up once again to ensure that they actively defended their case while we expressed our issues. When raising the issue of the postponement of elections, the OSS told the council that the elections would have never happened anyways, regardless of the implemented privacy policy. This was due to an accounting error on our part where we failed to provide the bursary with the relevant supporting documents for previous draw-downs. It was also stated that this was the reason for the cancellation of activities. This left us the council however to question why the OSS kept quiet all this time while we the council suffered the backlash from our fellow students. Our only guess is that they oppress the council purposely so that the general student population would come straight to them for welfare and support rather than place their trust in the Guild Council that governs them. Instead of handing out solutions from their decades worth of all-knowing wisdom, they choose to cause the council more problems and throw us under the bus. Lastly, we the council do not need your lectures on “process”. We the Guild of Students insist that you instead reflect on your sole purpose and role in the campus community so that you may do better as an office and not fail the students you claim to serve. We serve the [ch] students who elected us into power, not you. We are holding ourselves accountable, and so should you.
Crude
adj. /kru:ud/ 1. rude and offensive.
The Cave
IN RECENT WEEKS NEWS IN SHORT
01
THE UCC DOES IT AGAIN
02
THE D.P SAVES THE DAY
The Union Committee Chairperson Jamanni Brathwaite has remained the king of acquiring sponsorships for the Guild of Students. From whole hams to hampers, to drinks and care packages, he came in clutch when the halls of residence and student associations needed him. The sponsors included Wibisco, Cecil King (5 Star Barbershop), Barbados Bottling Company, Ryan Scott, and Good to Go Building Services. We would like to thank all our sponsors for their support. Keep up the good work Jamanni.
Following the emergency meeting held between the Guild Council and the Deputy Principal Prof. Winston Moore, numerous issues that have been falling on deaf ears have finally been resolved. These include a few of the guild’s financial matters as well as ways forward for elections.
CHILL SUDOKU !!
Photographs of Jamanni Brathwaite receiving items from two of our sponsors.
The Cave THE USAIN BOLT SPORTS COMPLEX Permissions to use this campus facility for student sporting activities and training have all been denied since the dawn of the pandemic. However, in recent weeks outside non-campus entities have been allowed to come and host numerous sporting activities. These included high school sports days like the Barbados Secondary Schools’ Athletic Championship. THE THREE Ws OVAL This famous cricket field is one of the first things students see when entering the campus, yet they are given no authority to use it. Outside entities on the other hand are given all the access they need to run cricket tournaments without even adhering to the campus’ health and safety protocols. Match after match, outsiders are seen on campus threatening our health.
WHO REALLY BENEFITS
04
GUILD COUNCILOR
OF THE MONTHS The Office of Student Services and Development ADVISOR
FEBRUARY/MARCH
FROM CAVE HILL’S AMENITIES? Ans: STUDENTS THE STUDENT GYM Something that the Cave Hill students have been begging for since the reopening of campus is sitting dusty and unmanaged. The campus entities responsible for it have ignored and denied all requests to have it reopened once again. This has caused the student body to believe that it is the Guild Council’s fault, however it is not. We want it back just as you do.
NO MORE OUTSIDERS
Dear Cave Hill, If you are so concerned about the campus’ safety and overall student environment to the point of barring physical student events, then we demand that you CEASE and DESIST OUTSIDERS from using our campus facilities that we pay for. Thank you.
SWIM PROGRAM
UPDATE The Swim Program which commenced on Saturday March 12th 2022 is still on as scheduled. The incident which occurred last week Saturday (March 19th) when the shuttle failed to come was a result of an action taken by the OSS. We the Games Committee would like to apologize to you the students for the inconvenience caused. Furthermore we would like to inform you that the twenty (20) student limit placed on the program was due to the aquatic center’s COVID-19 protocols. Please note that the Swim Program is carded to end on April 2nd 2022 and should return in the coming academic year. Thank you so much for your support. — The Games Committee
The Cave
05
WHAT IS THE UWI STAT AMBASSADORIAL CORPS ? UWI STAT (Student Today Alumni Tomorrow) provides students with opportunities to integrate with fellow Caribbean and international students. They enable the Vice Chancellor, through them, to always be in touch with the overall student perspective. They carry out important annual mandates that improve the reputation and visibility of the University and contribute to Caribbean unity and the public good. They are unique however as they report to the Regional Director and become Alumni Ambassadors upon graduation, having pledged lifelong allegiance and engagement with the University. They are a truly autonoumous entity we the Guild aim to resemble one day.
UPCOMING WEEKS A message to the students. Dear [ch] citizens,
WE
WANT
AUTONOMY
COMING SOON
We the Guild Council are tired of the lack of respect that the campus has given us. It is almost as if the title of being a councilor holds no weight anymore. That being said however, we still encourage you to put yourself up for service as the fight isn’t lost. It is up to us as a collective to continue pushing for change on this campus as previous councils have. Sincerely, The Guild Council (2021/2022)