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March 15, 2012 • 7
Introducing: Julia Adolf Incoming VP Academic Kelti Boissonneault Editor-in-Chief
Where are you from, and why did you choose the University of Lethbridge? I am from a tiny little town called Trochu; it’s pretty much in the middle of nowhere, and for anyone who knows the geography of Alberta, it’s in between Calgary and Edmonton. It’s a farming community, and basically that’s one of the biggest reasons I came to the U of L, because it’s small as well. I’d originally started looking at the U of A, really looked at the U of A, but fell in love with everything here. It’s very much like home down here; it’s all prairie and that small-community feeling — it’s the fact that you get to know your professors oneon-one. I was down here and didn’t know anybody; that was my biggest draw too, because I could just come here and be somebody new. What are you studying? I am studying, technically I’m just doing a general degree, but I was originally doing bio. Then I kind of switched to a general just because I wanted to do more psychology. But I still wanted to be able to teach so I had to stay with a general instead of switching right into psych. Bio, chem, and psych are my three disciplinary streams, but right now I’m pretty much done. I’m so stoked about being around for another year — very excited, it will be a lot of fun. I’m a science geek. What made you decide to get involved in student governance? My first year I was pretty involved living down in U Hall. I lived in residence, and I’ve lived in residence ever since, so I really got involved with ORS. I actually got hired on in my second year to be an RA in D/E 1. I really got involved with that and learning how to work within an organization, running events, and just doing things that way. I was actually on our academic committee when I was involved with ORS, so I was involved in academics that way and getting in speakers so I have that little aspect in it. I wanted to take a bigger step, go to a bigger part in the community and I just loved it
this year, being one of the Arts and Science representatives. My good friend, Andrew Williams, who is obviously the current VP Academic, he asked me at the very start of last year during elections if he got the position would I be his commissioner; so, eventually, once we got to September we elected commissioners and I got to be his commissioner. He asked me later on if I wanted to do his job later, so I kind of wanted to do it for a whole year. Yeah, I’m just really excited to continue on, and it’s just the fact that working with people is probably the reason I got into it in the first place, because I just love being involved. I love going and attending the events, but being able to help, and to volunteer, and have that little bit of more input into an event — it’s just gratifying to know that something went well and “I got to help with that.” So, you said you were Andrew’s commissioner this year; is that why you decided to run for VP Academic over other positions? Yes, I knew the position very well; I got to work through a lot of it this year. I got to do grade appeals just last week with some students, so I got to do some of my job even before I got elected into it. I have my new initiatives, the note bank, so I knew a lot of how everything worked. I was getting really excited to do more of the government portion of it, working with our lobby groups. That’s the one portion I’m really looking forward to this year. The whole year I’ve been looking forward to it. I’m just stoked to be here, and contributing towards everything. It just feels so good in the end because you get that big hand in everything, and even though some people don’t know you’re there, and don’t know you’re the one responsible for it; it’s just gratifying to see people happy and smiling even if they don’t know you were the cause of it. Before you were involved in the SU, and you’ve been involved for a while, what were your impressions of it as just a student? I didn’t know all too much in my first year. In my second year, work-
ing for ORS, we got very introduced because our president at the time was really involved with the Students’ Union. He really informed us about what was going on in the SU, and that’s how I started to know what was actually happening. That’s where I kind of got interested in it; then I left for a year, then came back and dove right back into it. I feel like we aren’t very well known around campus, which is hard to deal with because there always is that student apathy, which we will always talk about. The biggest thing with [apathy] is that students are going to do what they’re going to do. If you just keep pushing them to do something, they just aren’t going to. I think it’s just getting ourselves out there and known, and being prominent at NSO when first years are arriving and just getting away from home. At first I didn’t know much, but then once I started looking around and noticing that we do all this stuff and contribute all this money back to our students – I mean yes, you pay a certain amount in tuition — but with all the services: scholarships, food bank, note bank, travel and conference grants. It’s amazing all the services we provide but so many people don’t know about. That’s just one of the biggest things both the rest of the execs and I want to push next year: getting the word out to the first years, pushing the mobile app, getting that onto all their phones, and just go with it so everyone is informed. My impression was that I didn’t know what it was; then when I discovered it, I was surprised at how much they did. Now that you are elected into office, what are your goals as VP Academic? My goal is to basically further what we’ve done this year. We’ve basically introduced so much, or at least Andrew has with his position; he’s done the mobile app, the note bank, we’ve had a really strong relationship with CAUS, and those are the three main areas I want to keep advocating and pushing for. They are just brand new things, and I don’t want them to just get lost and pushed to the wayside because
they’re already done. I don’t want a bunch of huge new initiatives coming in and I don’t want to have lots of little things that don’t have their legs and aren’t grounded yet. I just want to continue those so that they are solidly built. For instance, the mobile app allows people to know what we are doing all the time, if they have the app and they utilize it. And then the note bank; it’s so easy for students to miss class, be sick, or be away at a conference, so it’s nice to be able to utilize something like that and have that there for the students. The last [goal] is just working with our lobby group, CAUS; I’m really excited. Things like mandatory non-instructional fees, that big looming cloud over our head that the university can just increase our tuition in any way that they want to in some respects — working with the government to make sure that can’t happen and that those fees are kept low is a big thing we are pushing these next months and years. If the university raises those fees, or implements them like the U of C has done, our tuition can just skyrocket. It’s making sure the government is aware, and giving us money, and being aware that our students are voting: pay attention to us. We want you to help, not just leave us in the dust. I said in my election speeches that I do want to see those little whiteboards around campus with little questions so everyone can answer them: politics or science, something to do with pro-choice, pro-life, just little questions around. It’d be nice to see one [white board] up in the library, one in the First Choice Savings Centre, and one down in U Hall. Just building up the programs and getting that firm basis is what I want to focus on this year. I really want the note bank to prosper because the test bank is becoming unuseable. It’s just a way for students to help each other out, and this year is to make sure that [these initiatives] are going to stay, going to work, and going to last. You’ve mentioned a few initiatives, but what is it that the VP Academic does within the SU? What is
your exact role? My exact role: anything academic, I get to deal with. I delegate all the committees that the SU is on, so anytime I need a student to sit on a committee, whether it’s a student already on our GA, or just a regular undergrad, I get to delegate where to put them. I get to sit on the senate, and others get to sit on the Board of Governors, so the students are well-represented and other areas of the university can hear the student voice. Then I get to deal with grade appeals, and deal with students who are not necessarily able to deal with their academics by themselves. I will point them in the right direction, whether to an advisor, or directly to the Dean, or whomever they need to talk to. If there is, eventually, a grade appeal, I get to help them with that. I also get to be on our lobby group: CAUS, so student advocacy is a big part of my role. I get to go to Edmonton and be the voice for students. There’s also a lot of phone calls and a lot of meetings. What would you say to students to encourage them to utilize the SU services a bit more? I would just inform them about what exactly there is. Just getting the knowledge out there to the first years, and going up to the third, fourth, and fifth years to remind them. Utilizing the mobile app, and continuing to utilize The Zoo to engage the students is also important. If we have our students on campus more, then the community will thrive much more. I basically want to tell them to just be involved. It’s pretty easy to figure out what’s going on, you just have to ask. We don’t want to be those big, intimidating people. We are all students, just like everyone, so people can come up to me in the hallway and come say “Hi.” I’m not a big scary person; I’m just like everyone else. I’d definitely tell everyone just get out there and be involved! Is there anything you want to add? Don’t forget about by-elections coming up in the Fall. We have [several] positions available that are left open, so there’s that.