Status Key:
Accountability is the true key to effective governance. On this page you can track our progress on platform promises and recent projects. SA Government thrives on student feedback, so we always welcome you to contact us.
Walk for Light
An initiative that has been around for quite a while, where SA Government representatives walk with members from security and facilities to identify areas that may need more blue light accessibility or more/less lighting.
What’s Happened: The walk took place on November 6th and the 2012 final report can be found here.
Contact: Shakti Rambarran
IT Summit
The IT Summit is a chance for students to meet with leaders in the University Information Technology departments and talk about ways through which we can improve campus technology ranging from wireless to information security.
What’s Happened: The Summit was held on October 24th and the report is coming to you soon!
Contact: Antoinette Esce
Clarification of Policy
In order to be held accountable for University policies and expectations, it is imperative that students understand policies and the reasoning behind them. SA Government works closely with the administration to provide the student voice on the creation and amendment of policies.
What’s happened: A committee has been created to review the Student Code of Conduct to remove ambiguity within policy. Additionally, ACJC hosted the second annual “Know Your Rights” program to clarify policies such as the newly established medical amnesty policy.
Contact: Alina Czekai, Bradley Halpern, Matt Lovell
Health and Wellness
Our goal is to establish a health website that combines information from dining, fitness and UHS, among others, to encourage a healthier lifestyle
Next step: We are currently working on a template website combining information from different departments and ensuring longevity of the website.
Contact: Antoinette Esce
Campus Safety
Having established a strong relationship with University Security, we seek to work together to address any overarching safety concerns among students.
What’s happened: Advocated for and saw the implementation of a new Blue Light (capitalized?) phone near the new Rails-to-trails footbridge, as well as several signs encouraging students to only use the pathway during daylight hours.
Contact: Donias Doko and Roshal Patel
Developing Campus Spaces
With so much new and restorative construction going on and around campus, we hope to increase student involvement in the planning and decision-making regarding these big changes on campus.
What’s happened: Focus groups, comprised of both students and administrators, have been set up to assess the Meliora Quad and the quad behind the new Warner building. Additionally, we will be working on a system to gather more student feedback regarding such matters.
Contact: Roshal Patel and David Stark
SAAC Online Initiatives
SAAC is working to place all supplemental forms online to allow online submissions and to integrate much of our operations with the new CollegiateLink CCC. Both of these online initiatives will allow additional functionality for business managers with regard to their accounts, budgets, and around-the-clock access to important financial resources.
What’s Happened: In the closing stages of putting all supplemental forms online. We have met with the consultants and are looking to set up the accounts for integrating our operations with the new CCC system by the end of the semester.
Contact: Michael Dymond
SAAC Ledger Form Enhancements
New features and functionality will be added to the ledger form, which is used by business managers to track their account balances and spending. These will allow for improved future budgeting, for groups to track whether they are meeting their income requirements and remaining within their current budget, and for seeing where their organization’s resources are being allocated.
What’s Happened: Currently the excel formulas are being improved to allow for the new functionality.
Contact: Michael Dymond
Assessing and Expanding Services
We are proud of the services we offer and are consistently looking up more ways to improve upon them.
What’s next: Working on assessing the city cycles program to improve its functionality. Potentially moving a Collegiate Readership Program newsstand, and working more with online newspaper initiatives.
Contact: Antoinette Esce
Alcohol Education
With a growing concern for excessive underage binge drinking nationwide, we are looking at ways to provide all students with comprehensive alcohol education from the moment they step on campus. This alcohol education should ideally include not just how to drink safely, but a clarification of policy in regards to alcohol and resources available to students.
What’s Happened: A trial alcohol education program will be included in the Spring 2013 transfer student orientation. Working with Orientation leaders and WCSA, that program will be evaluated and hopefully improved upon for the Fall 2013 orientation.
Contact: Roshal Patel
Experiential Learning
While a theory-based learning may be useful in some regards, we are increasingly seeing the need for experiential learning in this day and age.
What’s Happened: Working with several different university committees we have advocated for more funding for experiential learning within the different majors. Senior capstone projects can be crucial to making U of R students more relevant in the competitive job market and graduate programs.
Contact: Roshal Patel
Undergraduate Research
Research can be critical to a student’s learning. We would like to have the several research opportunities more public for students to learn about.
What’s Happened: Chair of Undergraduate research, Professor Manly has been pushing for each department to have an undergraduate research contact. We would like to aide in this push and then work with those contacts to make the research opportunities more public.
Contact: Roshal Patel
Campus Resources Page
With so many administrative departments and numerous resources, it can be difficult to figure out who to contact within the department and the student government representative who works with that department.
What’s Happened: We are currently working on a page that consolidates all this information for easier access by students.
Contact: Rishi Sharma
Communication
Every year the SA Government works to make their communication strategies more effective, this year is no different.
What’s Happened: Rocky’s Report has taken a more entertaining and interactive way of communicating information to students. Additionally the communications team has added positions to be able to communicate via chalking and tunnel painting.
Contact: Rishi Sharma
Collaboration
Last year we saw the need for greater collaboration among students. We hope to bring student groups who don’t usually work together to collaborate on programming and create new bonds among students and student groups.
What’s Happened: We have worked to secure funding for groups to utilize in putting on collaborative programming.
Contact: Alina Czekai
Connect with Professors
With such renowned faculty here at the university, establishing meaningful and personal relationship can be a great part of the student experience. We would like to work on finding more ways to connect students with professors outside of the classroom.
Contact: Roshal Patel
Bar Buses
According to students polled, bar buses are a seemingly important part of student life, but we have lost this privilege. Our goal is to assess the situation and set up a framework that will ensure optimal student behavior in the years to come.
What’s Happened: Last year, because of student advocacy, we were reserved the right to use bar buses for restricted bar parties (21+) and formals. Moving forward, there will be continued discussions about the potential for a proposal to bring back all bar buses.
Contact: Roshal Patel, Alina Czekai, Arturo Spica, Henry Macias
Advanced Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint Training
Advanced abilities to utilize Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint are crucial in the professional world. Having the ability to take non-credit bearing courses can be very useful pre and post-graduation.
What’s Happened: Preliminary discussions have occurred at the IT Summit regarding such courses or access to information.
Contact: Roshal Patel
