Douglas Students' Union Elections
The Douglas Students' Union (DSU) has been having problems as of recently. As Dave Fleming-Saraceno reported in The Peak back in 2005, Douglas College decided not to remit student fees to the DSU due to the latter's not having had audits for the past three years. Mr. Fleming-Saraceno stated that the CFS had given $100,000 to the DSU to keep them afloat, notwithstanding their lack of ability to keep track of said money.
Lisa McLeod, Chairperson of CFS-BC responded. She stated that the Federation had given a loan to the DSU, not a gift, and that the DSU had, in fact, completed its audits regularly. Of course, this was not the end of the matter. Jan Gunn responded, "They may not be stealing... But they can't prove they aren't." She showed a copy of a post-audit memorandum from the DSU's auditors, containing many criticisms of the way that the DSU handled its money. Gunn also claims that, in fact, there is no record of the Federation having properly approved any loan to the DSU. Confidential sources tell me that the Federation did, indeed, grant a loan to the DSU, but this loan was not subject to any terms or conditions of repayment - effectively making it more like a gift than a loan, for legal purposes at least.
But good folks in charge of the Douglas Students' Union may soon wish that they had these minor problems. DSU elections are coming up, and there are three slates vigorously competing for the votes of Douglas students. The DSU webmaster seems blissfully unaware of this minor fact, of course, but The Other Press, the Douglas College student newspaper, has dutifully published the official notices of the Students' Union. The last page of the March 22, 2006 issue notes that DSU elections will be taking place Tuesday, March 28 - Monday, April 3. The last page of the March 15, 2006 issue notes which positions would be available, and when campaigning would take place. But no where do we find out *who* these mysterious candidates are.
Fortunately, Steve Lee, a Kwantlen student, has posted a full set of resources on his website relating to the Douglas Students' Union elections. Apparently, one entire slate of candidates in the Douglas elections are actually Kwantlen students who all registered in courses at Douglas for the purposes of getting themselves elected to the DSU. This slate (called "Reduce All Fees" [RAF] at Kwantlen) is currently in power over at the Kwantlen Student Association, and many of the candidates in the DSU election are currently executives or staff over at the KSA. Mr. Lee informs Kwantlen students that "a number of your KSA staff and elected officials seem to have so much time on their hands that they feel they can effectively run multiple student unions at the same time."
What about the other candidates? Sources tell me that the other candidates are part of two different slates, each of which includes incumbent DSU executives. For example, consider the candidates for Treasurer. Jessica Gojevic is the current Treasurer; Heidi Taylor is the current College Relations Coordinator; and Liv Grewal is a former candidate for the Kwantlen Student Association with the RAF Party.
How will the elections turn out? We won't know until a few days from now, when (hopefully!) all the votes will be counted.
The Douglas Students' Union (DSU) has been having problems as of recently. As Dave Fleming-Saraceno reported in The Peak back in 2005, Douglas College decided not to remit student fees to the DSU due to the latter's not having had audits for the past three years. Mr. Fleming-Saraceno stated that the CFS had given $100,000 to the DSU to keep them afloat, notwithstanding their lack of ability to keep track of said money.
Lisa McLeod, Chairperson of CFS-BC responded. She stated that the Federation had given a loan to the DSU, not a gift, and that the DSU had, in fact, completed its audits regularly. Of course, this was not the end of the matter. Jan Gunn responded, "They may not be stealing... But they can't prove they aren't." She showed a copy of a post-audit memorandum from the DSU's auditors, containing many criticisms of the way that the DSU handled its money. Gunn also claims that, in fact, there is no record of the Federation having properly approved any loan to the DSU. Confidential sources tell me that the Federation did, indeed, grant a loan to the DSU, but this loan was not subject to any terms or conditions of repayment - effectively making it more like a gift than a loan, for legal purposes at least.
But good folks in charge of the Douglas Students' Union may soon wish that they had these minor problems. DSU elections are coming up, and there are three slates vigorously competing for the votes of Douglas students. The DSU webmaster seems blissfully unaware of this minor fact, of course, but The Other Press, the Douglas College student newspaper, has dutifully published the official notices of the Students' Union. The last page of the March 22, 2006 issue notes that DSU elections will be taking place Tuesday, March 28 - Monday, April 3. The last page of the March 15, 2006 issue notes which positions would be available, and when campaigning would take place. But no where do we find out *who* these mysterious candidates are.
Fortunately, Steve Lee, a Kwantlen student, has posted a full set of resources on his website relating to the Douglas Students' Union elections. Apparently, one entire slate of candidates in the Douglas elections are actually Kwantlen students who all registered in courses at Douglas for the purposes of getting themselves elected to the DSU. This slate (called "Reduce All Fees" [RAF] at Kwantlen) is currently in power over at the Kwantlen Student Association, and many of the candidates in the DSU election are currently executives or staff over at the KSA. Mr. Lee informs Kwantlen students that "a number of your KSA staff and elected officials seem to have so much time on their hands that they feel they can effectively run multiple student unions at the same time."
What about the other candidates? Sources tell me that the other candidates are part of two different slates, each of which includes incumbent DSU executives. For example, consider the candidates for Treasurer. Jessica Gojevic is the current Treasurer; Heidi Taylor is the current College Relations Coordinator; and Liv Grewal is a former candidate for the Kwantlen Student Association with the RAF Party.
How will the elections turn out? We won't know until a few days from now, when (hopefully!) all the votes will be counted.
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