You vote!
Yes, elections for the undergraduate societies are coming up and yes, the AUS is spending $60,000 on them.
Nomination forms are available online and at the AUS office. If you’re interested in joining the AUS and representing more than 11,000 students on campus – run! Nominations close on Thursday!
Isn’t that what people always say?
But… What if there’s no known way of communication that actually works?
I was recently asked to think of ways in which the University might “better communicate – and be in dialogue with – students.”
Honestly…
I have no idea.
But I seriously wish I had!
Taking over Facebook? Twitter? Email? Blogs? Webpages? Posters? Class announcements? Radio programs? Speaker announcements in every library? Troubadours in every corner?
I´ve even thought of having students working for the university whose sole, secret job would be to go around telling their friends what´s going on with the university! —-and the ideas just get weirder and weirder.
My question? ->
What does the university have to do to interest students?
What does it have to do to interest you?
—Hi Couple!—
My grandma in Italy, my friends in Guatemala and my friend in the Philippines all tell me the same thing -> “Wow, those protests are so violent. Be careful!”
Why is it that news of one violent protest of 400 people goes around the world in a matter of hours while almost no one knows about all the peaceful protests that have been happening.
What about the 3000 people that peacefully marched on Friday? Why doesn’t the world know about them?
Is the media bought off?
Or is it simply that peaceful protests don’t sell?
Here’s a video of Friday’s massive PEACEFUL protest…
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/ButchNews#p/a/u/2/Ah-lohIbczY[/youtube]
Yesterday I was amongst the thousands of people that took the streets of Vancouver to protest the olympic games. I have to say that it was beautifully inspiring.
Unlike this morning’s protest, yesterday’s was a peaceful demonstration, there was music, dancing and a lot of energy all around. People were really making their voices heard. Amongst the many things that we were calling attention to were the Tar Sands, Russia 2014, homelessness and the lie of the green games.
As I danced and screamed with the crowd I couldn’t stop thinking “this is what all those great student movements in Latin America must have looked and felt like.” Movements that protected human rights, defied dictators and spoke out against genocides. Movements that changed our history.
All those people who got informed and decided to speak out and to show the world the “dark” side of the olympics have all my respect. I don’t think that there is anything worth more than the belief in change. The hope.
I have hope in ethically correct olympic games and I will keep going out to the protests these two weeks to be proactive about what I feel is right.
How about you?
Highly controversial points to follow!!
1. They are being held on First Nation Lands while only representing a small minority.
2. They are appropriating Native art and culture to appear to the world as a perfectly multicultural community while there are still high levels of racism, especially towards First Nations.
3. They have reduced funding from many social services to increase spending for the games.
4. They have broken the promise of housing.
5. They have changed the laws to highly discriminate homeless people.
6. They have changed the laws to reduce our civil liberties.
7. They are a market place for corporations without ethics like McDonalds and Coca Cola.
8. They have broken the promise of Green Games.
9. They act as if they hadn’t broken their promises.
10. They are militarizing Vancouver’s streets, using fear as a tactic of oppression.
11. They are detaining people in the borders if they have any anti-olympic history.
12. They have done their best to oppress any anti-olympic movement, denying people their basic right of freedom of speech.
It feels like we have been bombarded with information these last few weeks as we deal with three issues that affect all students: housing, AMS elections and tuition increase.
It is my first time experiencing this at UBC, so I’m definitely not an expert, but I have noticed two common themes. First, everyone has something to say and second, almost no one says it.
Everyone has an opinion about tuition increasing, yet only 15 people showed up to the Tuition Increase Consultation. Everyone had some kind of thoughts about the AMS elections, but only 15% of the student body voted. And definitely everyone has things to say about on-campus housing while the Housing Open House was attended by less than 10 students.
It’s not hard to notice that there is a serious problem with the way that the university and the student government is engaging in communication with the student body.
I haven’t yet figured it out, but I feel like there is a lot of hope in technology. I’m sure that Andre can make this point clearer and stronger, but lets just look at the numbers:
The facebook group UBC Students Against 4% Tuition Increase has 379 people and 72 publications.
The group UBC really needs more/better housing has 271 people and a wall with A LOT of publications.
Similarly, AMS candidates had very popular groups online.
What does this show?
—> Students are engaging in conversation.
But they’re finding alternative ways to do so. Ways that accommodate to their current lifestyles. We’re experiencing a time in which communication happens through social networks like Facebook, Twitter and personal blogs.
Has the university not caught up then? Even though I see the administration putting a lot of effort into taking advantage of new technologies, I think that everyone would benefit from them looking more into it.
It’s 2010. Communication and engagement between the administration, the student government and the student body should be interactive and most especially adaptive.
If Open Houses aren’t attended, maybe they aren’t being publicized in the right way, or maybe they just need to be made available in a completely different way?
Thank you for suddenly making everything look so nice. I especially appreciate the new lawn spaces, and also the new bus stops, classy.
The new posters around campus really show what beautiful things are being done. From here. They make me feel proud.
It is so sweet of you to add all those extra security measures. It really shows that your students are your top priority.
Thank you, UBC.
I do have one suggestion, though.
How about being a little more real during this process of euphemization?
How about:
Lack of secure housing for international students. From here.
Lack of job placements for international students. From here.
No loans for international students. From here.
Low internationalization of our curriculum. From here.
…
Love,
Valentina
Brittany Perna? Our new International Student Rep? Who is she?
I’ve seen Brittany three times this week; at the 2010/11 Tuition Increase Proposal, at yesterday’s AMS Council Meeting and today, when I had a chance to ask her some questions about being our new International Student Representative. All of these times I’ve found her very friendly and open to ideas. She is genuinely excited about her new position and is looking forward to being an active member of the AMS.
Brittany describes doing the foundation and the research work as daunting but explains that she is a person that will only talk when she is sure that she can back up her claims. – How do you grasp everything? That’s going to be the scariest part, but talking and fighting to keep the seat is not that bad. –
Most importantly, she is willing to hear what students have to say. – The more e-mails that can come in, the better. –
What are you three main goals as International Student Rep.?
Fostering a sense of community within the international body, fight to keep the seat in the AMS Council and speak out about rising tuition every year.
How would you describe the last International Rep.’s role in the council?
Nazanin was crucial, as the first representative, in doing groundwork. She started a lot of connections within international groups on campus. She was the foundation and has done a lot of research, which is passing down to me this week.
Who are the first people that you will contact as International Rep.?
From the administration the tuition people and from the student body I don’t know yet, I still have to do research as there are a lot of groups.
Who are you representing and how will you make sure that you hear their voice?
I will hear anyone who’s willing to talk but there is a need to make it known that there is a seat in the council and a representative and a place to go to to make your voice heard.
How do you see your relationship with the ISA?
As I’m currently only in the Facebook group, the relationship is non-existent right now. But I’m trying to get closer. It’s not a huge organization so I feel that close communication can be established. It’s always better to have a few active members than many apathetic.
—
Well Brittany, I wish you the best and I really do hope that you you get a lot of e-mails from all our international students.
Dear Blake McDermott,
My name is Valentina Vargas and I am a first year international student at UBC.
Unfortunately, I write to express my dissatisfaction about what I see as a grave problem with the relationship between the ISA and the at-large international community. In short, I see a lack of representation of the international community on ISA’s part and a lack of a united voice from the said community.
As a student who tries to stay informed and be involved in the international community, I have barely felt ISA’s presence on campus. Yes, you do organize social events, but I firmly believe that parties should not be the priority of an organization that is supposed to represent international students on campus.
I understand that your job is not an easy one, I have already seen and experienced the limits in communication in our fractured international community. Still, I feel that we have in front of us a turning point full of potential, one that will inevitably have tremendous effects on international student representation on campus. We are now seeing two events emerging that are increasingly important to us and our common goals:
First, the university is actively pursuing an increase in international enrollment, some people estimated that it will double this coming academic year. At the same time, however, we see a lack of international students’ voices. One of the biggest issues coming up, as you may well know, is the election of a new international student representative in the AMS council. While I am not informed enough to comment on the achievements of the current international representative, I do know that the seat is not as valued as it should be by the rest of the council. Furthermore, having personally interviewed this year’s candidates, I am seriously distressed with their competency in leading our community.
What we need now is a strong representative, one that can unite our many voices and show UBC that international students not only care but are also powerful enough to bring change upon a system that rarely makes us the priority. A representative that can show the AMS council the importance of international students to UBC. One that can effectively lead and truly represent the 6,403 students that we are.
This is not easy, and not the job of an individual. As international enrollment rises and a new representatives take seat I believe that the international community has to take ownership of what it believes in. We can sit back and lose the voice that we have worked for. Or, we can stand up. Let’s take this challenge to a new level and start something new, something strong.
I believe that with the leadership of the ISA the international community can gain a new voice on campus. I encourage you to promote dialogue between the many international student groups on campus. Be the leaders of an inclusive movement that can advocate for international students and be a bridge between them and the university. In this way, when our new international representative takes seat she/he will not be standing alone but with the full support and guidance of the ISA: a reformed international student society that is in continuous communication with the international community.
I sincerely hope that you think about what I and many other members of our community envision and that you take quick and serious steps towards achieving it.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the issue,
Valentina
There’s a bench in Place Vanier Common’s Block. It’s broken. It’s been broken for a while. I once forgot and sat on it anyway. I felt very stupid.
A few days ago I was studying in the bench next to the broken bench and two staff members walked up to it (the broken bench). They discussed how to fix it and then left with a comment that really stayed with me “… because we do have tours that go through here and it doesn’t look very good.”
Well, I feel that the international students at UBC are like that broken bench. We can make the university look very good. But there’s some things that need to be fixed.
I really have no problem with UBC being advertised as a university with a thriving international community, as long as it’s true. As of now, however, I feel that there is no community. International students in UBC don’t have a voice, a shared identity. And until we get one, we’ll be that broken bench, full of potential but not really working.
For example, today I went to a consultation on the proposed 4% increase in international tuition. For those of you who don’t know how much that is, it’s about $800 a year. During this poorly attended meeting we were explained by members of the administration things such as how this increase works, who sets the tuition and how the funds will be allocated. We were also told that today starts a consultation about this fee increase with the students, which will go on until the 23rd of March. Part of this consultation will include a first-time-ever survey about it for international students.
My conclusion:
The increase is inevitable. Still, there is one area in which we can affect the outcome. FILL OUT THE SURVEY. Especially, FILL OUT THE LAST QUESTION OF THE SURVEY. This question asks you to say where you would like to see more of your fees allocated (things such as smaller classes, student services, scholarships, etc). After filling out the survey, TELL YOUR FRIENDS TO FILL IT OUT TOO. This is the first time that the university is asking international students what they think about their fees, we really really really have to show them that we care. The administration needs to realize that we are a strong voice, let’s start with this survey.
