-President’s Mess

Well folks, my term as your President is rapidly drawing to a close. On May Ist, Andrea Ledwell will be taking over for what will undoubt- edly be a busy year. 1989/90 has kept your elected members of the Council very active and we hope we have served your interests ade- quately. What follows is a report of some of the Union’s activities and highlights of the year. I am positive that I have omitted items and I encourage you to let me know points you feel I should have covered.

Space does not permit me to thank all of the individual volunteers and staff members’ valued contributions to the organization. Suffice to say that if we have accomplished anything this year it is in large part due to your input and work. The rest of the credit goes to you,

the UPEI student, for supporting the Union’s activities in the social, political, or academic spheres.

I. Social

a) Events at the Student Union (SU) Barn

~ There were 16 SU sponsored events at the Barn this year. There were 15 sub-organization sponsored events at the Barn. The majority of these events were WET/DRY. Some of the events included: the David Wilcox show, Curfew, Bob Lambert, The Sattalites, Ray Lyle, and many more.

SU policy is to hold as many events as possible in the WET/DRY format. The Union is not happy about the current system and continued lobbying will take place toward a fully integrated WET/DRY system that other universities enjoy. Students must strive to convince the Liquor Control Board and the government of PEI that we are responsible adults capable of making informed decisions regarding our behavior and substance usage.

— Substance awareness programs and appropriate conduct at SU events will illustrate our responsibility to the gov- ernment and provide necessary information about sub- stance usage to students.

b) Alternate Programming

As you will recall, the Union sponsored numerous speaker presentations in the “Pit” this year. Topics range from vari- ous political issued from Ads Awareness and Alcohol Aware- ness.

Special Events

Successful days of student involvement occurred during Na- tional Student’s Day (Oct 18th) and the President’s Open House during National Universities Week. The January CFS National Week of Action presented a combination of festiv- ities and government lobby efforts. The student debate in- volving UPEI Debating Society on the topic of education and the Panel discussion on “Women and Academia” were organized with the hopes of stimulating discussion as well as creating awareness about educational issues. Other no- table events included the numerous Winter Carnival activi- ties and, or course, the recent April 6th Student Demonstra- tion at Province House.

II. Athletic Promotion

Continued support of our fellow student athletes will require con- _ siderable committement and resources. The Union has made but a small dent in this area through organized events such as the Hol- loween promotion of the Hockey.team and highlighting members of the Women and Men’s Soccer teams during National Student’s

Year in Review

Day. We would appreciate any ideas that the Athletics Depart- ment undertakes in promotions. One such suggestion resulted in the Union co-sponsoring celebrations and recognition surrounding the closing of the Alumni Gym.

. Representation on the Governing Bodies of the Univer-

sity

— Your seven elected senators attended the many gatherings of the Senate and worked on numerous committees of the Senate’s mandate. Considerable student input was offered in the establishment of minors programs, in the proposal for a UPEI Women’s Studies Program, in the endorsement of policy for patents and intellectual property, and in securing student representation on University struck committees.

Your two elected members of the Board of Governors dealt with such issues that included the proposed Dining Hall, the Winter Games, and site selection for the proposed Student Centre Complex.

The Union did investigation and offered recommendations on the University’s policy on late fees & hiring practices and is currently lobbying for student input and representation on the Computer Advisory Committee.

Efforts to ensure graduate student representation on Sen- ate was realized with the graduate student positions on the important Senate Committees on Research and Ethics and Research. The referenda vote recognizing the Graduate Stu- dent Association and as Associate members of the Students’ Union facilitated initial graduate student voice on Senate Committees.

IV. Organizational Development

Changes within the Unions’ organizational structure were incor- porated to streamline functions and assist the work of the orga- nization. Changes include:

— The creation of the Promotions Coordinator resulted in con- sistent monitoring of the Communications panel in the “Pit” and quality signage promoting activities on campus. Thanks Lisa Chandler for amazing work on creativity!

Hiring of Union employees now includes the Employment Centre at Student Services. Interested applicants now drop off applications and are screened at the Employment Centre. Short lists of names are then forwarded to the SU Hiring Board for interviews.

The Panther Lounge staff and the Campus Police members increased training and skills development in First Aid, CPR and Patron Control to ensure better student protection.

The ole’ Student Union Constitution needs reform and there were various amendments passed that promotes improve- ments. Most notably, the amendments to the Elections By— Law now allows for the inclusion of electing class executive positions in Union elections as well as having most of the Council spots elected in March of each year.

VI. Provincial Student Organization

Every province in Canada has a provincial organization except us. In each province, each student contributes a small yearly fee towards:the operation of an organization that unites all of that

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