June 12, 2020
Here’s what your SFSS Board of Directors has been up to during the month of May:
The SFSS Board of Directors has had a busy but productive May, the first month of the 2020-2021 year!
This year’s board transition was an interesting one as we continue to work from home. However, this did not stop us from hitting the ground running! During our first week, we held our annual Board orientation and training, including informative presentations on governance, the Societies Act, and how to be effective and responsible members of the Board of Directors.
Our Board met for the first time on May 1st, the very first day of the 2020-2021 term. At our first Board meeting on May 15th, the Board of Directors mandated the Governance and Executive Committees to review our Governance and Administrative structures respectively, and a report on the outcome of each review will be presented to the Board for consideration on June 12th.
Furthermore, the Board has taken on a number of important initiatives, such as planning an SFSS Townhall for students to engage with us and send in their questions and concerns, stating our support and standing in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and Black students at SFU, and contributing more than $11,000 to the Living Personal Truths Award to support LGBTQ+ students on our campus which will bring the total sum of the award to $20,000. The SFSS continues to support student movements such as the SFU C19 Coalition. We also released the results of our COVID-19 Undergraduate survey and will be using the results to inform us of our advocacy efforts, while continuing to engage in meaningful consultation with our members.
Our Board committees are off to a great start, with a new First-Year Engagement committee having been established at our May 29th meeting, and a BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Colour) Committee in the works for ratification at an upcoming meeting. We are looking forward to using both of these committees to engage directly with students by incorporating at-large membership, and ensuring that our initiatives are informed and led by the students we want to serve! The External and Community Affairs committee is preparing for a presentation to the Finance Committee for the BC Budget Consultation, to solidify and emphasize our commitment to affordable education for all students. Here, we will be focusing on pushing the provincial government to implement a 2% cap on international student tuition increases, eliminating the International Student Health Fee, and fixing the post-secondary funding model to relieve the financial burden of tuition from students as we move towards free education for all.
We are looking forward to months to come, and we would also like to extend our sincerest congratulations to the graduating class of 2020! Keep in touch!