Professional Documents
Culture Documents
handbook
Table of Contents
Welcome
Our Five Pillars
Advocacy
Climate action
Food Strategy
Transparency and Democracy
Building Community
Get to know us
Lets Move UMSU Forward
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A brief overview
of our priorities.
Keep reading to
find out more.
And be sure to
check out our
facebook page,
where well be
highlighting
elements of our
policy guide.
Welcome!
We are UMSU Forward, and were excited about this opportunity to bring great
ideas to life and reach out to students.
UMSU Forward is committed to a new kind of students union on this campus. As grassroots organizers working on a range of campus projects, we have
gained insight from you into what UMSU could be, and what it must be. Were
ready to bring new life into the students union.
A students union needs to engage with students. It must always be listening
to campus voices, identifying needs, building unity, and turning that into creative
action. We cant keep saying that students are apathetic when the union doesnt
engage with them.
A students union needs to be building a better campus life, every day. This
means moving beyond the campus politics, the division, and the personal agendas. By working together, pooling our resources and our ideas, we can achieve
so much. We need student leaders committed to identifying problems big and
small - from adding electrical outlets to administrative policy, all students need
access to power.
Finally, a students union needs more than anything else to provide a voice for
students. There are issues on this campus that need to be addressed - from budget cuts to student debt levels. We need student leaders who are ready to stand
up; who can be counted on to stick by their principles; and who fight for what
they believe in inclusive, diverse, accessible, high-quality education.
This is the kind
of students union
UMSU Forward is
committed to building, and weve got a
number of great policies to get started.
Keep reading to see
just a few of the many
ways were committed to moving UMSU
forward.
Everyone on UMSU Forward brings different experiences and priorities to the table. Weve got some big
plans that we want to bring you in on. These plans
cover five broad areas:
Advocacy
Lets defend students interests at the Legislature
and the University, with UMSU Forwards long record
of standing up for students.
Climate Action
Lets turn our union into a symbol of hope while
developing student jobs by building a student-run
and owned composter on campus.
Food Strategy
Lets implement UMSUs first food strategy, $5
meal deals, options for residence and international
students, and campus farmers markets.
Transparency and Democracy
Lets give students more access to the union
through participatory budgeting, revamping social
media, and consultation sessions.
Student Community
Lets help students build community and connect to student groups with regular free breakfasts,
student-run competitions, and support for student
groups.
Advocacy
In your corner...
Campaigns
Current UMSU campaigns address pressing issues facing students such as
sexual assault on campus, equity, and mental health awareness. UMSU Forward
will ensure that these campaigns are continually developed by constituency
groups such as Active Minds, Justice for Women, and the Womyns Centre. We
will work with these groups to ensure that they maximise their reach and effectiveness.
It is also important to ensure that these campaigns provide more than just
awareness and that the administration is taking adequate action on student
concerns. University regulations such as the sexual assault policy need to be developed in consultation with students and continually reevaluated
Study Space
Finding study space is always a problem. A lack of clean, spacious, and relaxing areas to study makes it more difficult to be a student and often forces people off campus. Creating more welcoming and comfortable spaces will make
life easier for students and help us start building the community we all want to
see on campus.
We will make sure that adequate study spaces are included in all new buildings and make sure that renovations do not remove current student study space.
To address the immediate need for study space, we will open classrooms as rotating study halls, starting with already existing classrooms. Rotating study halls
will save students the time of trying to find open classrooms during busy study
seasons.
Infrastructure
One way to stay energized at school is staying hydrated. On Bannatyme campus, there are very few water fountains and none have converted to water bottle
friendly. Ensuring that water fountains are accessible is also crucial for eliminating disposable plastic bottle waste on campus. UMSU Forward will advocate
more water fountains on Bannatyne campus that are accessible for students
and staff and are waterbottle friendly.
Second, students often find themselves in a web of cords due to lack of
electrical plugs in study spaces and classrooms on campus. UMSU Forward will
advocate the installation of electrical plugs, in key spots around campus to ensure all students have access to power!
Regulating International Student Tuition Fees
Domestic students benefit from the security of provincial legislation capping
tuition increases at the rate of inflation. International student tuition, however,
can be raised without restriction. This means that international students completing a four-year degree can see their tuition increase in any or every year of
their study. International students may also have less opportunity to take advantage of provincial tax credits and advances available to Manitoba residents.
Last year, international students tuition increased between 10-18%, forcing
international students to raise several thousand dollars extra over a single summer. This insecurity is unacceptable.
UMSU Forward is committed to protecting the interests of international students from this policy of the university administration. We will lobby the provincial government to provide security to international students through tuition
regulation.
We want to hear from international students. We will hold regular town halls
and consultations, and also bring back the International Student Caucus as a
body that listens to the voices of international students on campus.
Climate Action
Its about our future...
Environmental action
provides many opportunities to collaborate with
university administration
Environmental Advocacy
Students have an important role to play in the protection and well-being of our environment. We will
develop more spaces for discussion and idea generation on issues of sustainability, including film screenings, workshops, speakers, and panel discussions. We
will also host a forum on environmental leadership
with representation from all Manitoba post-secondary institutions, similar to this years successful forum
on campus consent culture.
UMSU Forward will work closely with other environmental groups on campus and in the broader
community, including academics who work on environmental issues and the Office of Sustainability.
We will also continue to move forward with the Divest Manitoba campaign, while critically evaluating
how it could be made more effective and brought to
a wider audience.
Food Strategy
Food! Food! Food!
Transparency
& Democracy
Make sure youre heard...
Participatory budgeting
ensures that students
priorities are reflected in
the way UMSU spends its
money
Participatory budget
Currently, UMSU budgeting is determined by the discretion of the Executive
in consultation with the Finance committee, but students priorities are often
left unrepresented.
To fix this problem and to provide a model for the university administration,
we will launch a feasibility study to examine how best to conduct budget consultations and implement recommendations in students interest. Participatory
budgeting allows members of an organisation to have a say in the way their
money is spent by letting them allocate a portion of the organisations budget.
More meaningful consultation
Students have very few direct lines of communication to the decision-making bodies of UMSU. If elected, UMSU Forward will have more frequent, more
focused consultations, so that students can respond to matters that affect them
the most, including meaningful one-on-one interaction, properly advertised
consultative events, and surveys that are focused and released in a timely manner.
Reformed communications strategy
While it is important for the UMSU executive to know whats going on with
students, its equally important for students to know what the union is planning.
UMSU Forward will revamp the unions presence on many different social media
platforms. We will use UMSU televisions for more relevant and direct information and improve the navigability of the website. To share events and connect
with students, we will also use class talks, postering in student lounges, class
talks, and communication through faculty associations and student groups.
Return to written minutes
Minutes are a summary of a meeting, essential for the records of an organisation, and to guide future administrations. For most of the past year, UMSU
council minutes have been only provided as audio recordings. We believe that
future UMSU council minutes should be written, and made accessible within
one week of the meeting. In order to engage as many students as possible in
UMSUs proceedings, we will also make condensed easy-to-read summaries
available to students. Finally, we will make sure that all the minutes from this
last year are transcribed, so as to provide a proper record for future UMSU councils.
Building
Community
Were in this together...
My name is Niall Harney, and Im running for president with UMSU Forward.
You might recognize as that tall guy with the orange jacket who basically lives
at Degrees. Ive been working and studying on campus for four years now, and
Ill be graduating next year with a degree in Global Political Economy.
The job of our union president is first and foremost to bring a voice to our
needs, our goals, and our interests. While that means Ill always be fighting in
your corner, the most important thing Ill be doing is listening. As leader of the
union, I will always be looking to seek out your needs and turn them into action.
That means not just having an open door, but constantly meeting with you,
finding voices on campus, being open, and being flexible enough make your
ideas reality. Im a student just like you, committed to a better campus for all of
us.
We all know that this campus is changing. Im committed to ensuring students are heard throughout that transformation. United, we can make sure it
happens.
Im deeply excited by the opportunity to serve our union. Both on this campus, and in the wider world, Ive seen the power the student union can harness
to better the lives of its student members. From cleaning microwaves to tackling student debt, I have learnt that there are always solutions, and if you cant
find them, youre not thinking creatively enough. Through our plans for improving student life and amplifying your voice, I cannot wait to bring that vision to
life on this campus.
My name is Ashley Penner, and I am a fourth-year student in the Faculty of Science running for the position of Vice President Advocacy. On campus Ive been
involved with organizing against budget cuts, helping International Students
organize against unfair tuition hikes and helping increase democracy through
organizing General Assemblies at faculty council levels. Im also the student representative on the Alternative budget project.
I remember receiving
a petition in the first few
weeks of my undergrad requesting the removal of interest from provincial student loans. As a direct result
of this campaign students
save thousands of dollars in
their loan repayment.
Ive seen the power of united voices and how they lead to meaningful change
for students. Every single day, Ill be striving to connect and strengthen the community so that you get the most out of your student union. I am committed to
being an articulate voice to make sure student perspectives are clearly communicated to University administration and at all levels of government.
I find that Student input is crucial when considering long-term planning and how money is
spent; that is why I believe participatory budgeting and frequent, open, and meaningful consultation are essential for the relationship between
students and their union. Im running because I
want to help students discover what this union
can do for them, and to help shape it into a relevant part of their campus experience.
If elected, I will work to make student services more inclusive, more visible,
more sustainable and more collaborative. I want to make it easier for students
to connect to other students, take action in what theyre passionate about and
ultimately find their place at university.
Lets move
UMSU Forward!
How to get involved
VOTE!
We cant stress enough the importance of voting.
This year especially, every vote counts. Vote March
2nd, 3rd and 4th.
Our snapcode! Add us to
find out how campaigning is going!
Communicate
Connect with us on social media, and let your
friends know about us:
Facebook.com/UMSUForward
Twitter: @umsu_forward
Instagram/Snapchat: @umsuforward
Volunteer
Weve got a GREAT team of volunteers already, but we can always use the extra hand! If you want to help out at our table, in our office, or on the floor talking
to students, let us know through any of the above methods, or send us an email
at umsuforward@gmail.com.