News Brief: KSA holds first council meeting electing members to executive roles
The Kwantlen Student Association had its first council meeting since the general election on April 29 through Zoom
Elected Students with Disabilities Rep Lesli Sangha, Langley Campus Rep Karan Singh, International Students Rep Armaan Dhillon, and Women’s Rep Manmeet Brar were in attendance. Re-elected Arts Rep Alvin Chand was not present.
The meeting started with a land acknowledgement given by speaker of council Titus Gregory, followed by introductions of the newly elected council members.
In his introduction, Singh said he is studying criminology at Kwantlen Polytechnic University.
Dhillon said he is eager to “bring the gap closer [sic] between the international students and the domestic students” in his role as International Student Rep. He also wants to “bring back the university life” missed in the last two years.
Brar said she finished her studies in December, and ran for Women’s Rep after.
Sangha who is now the Student with Disabilities Rep says she is excited for the role.
“I’m excited to be the students with disabilities representative, and to be able to continue the work that [former KSA president] Jaya and I have been advocating for students with disabilities,” Sangha said.
Executive Director Ben Newsom sent council members the oath of office to be signed and sent back to him. The oath is made in acknowledgement of the trust KPU students placed in each member for their elected role.
The KSA council then held their executive election to fill four positions.
Sangha was elected for the role VP of Finance and Operations, where she will be responsible for reporting to the finance committee, working with the head accountant on the KSA budget and preparing the budget, and provide regular reports to council on the budget status. Sangha will also be responsible for providing oversight to the KSA operations.
Dhillon nominated himself for the role of VP University Affairs, in which he will be responsible for attending KPU advisory committee meetings to find out what the university is doing, and reporting to the university affairs committee to give insight into KPU’s affairs.
Dhillon was also elected as president of the KSA.
Singh was elected for VP External Affairs, and will be responsible for liaising with external organizations including other student associations and government. He will also be representing the KSA at Canadian Alliance of Student Associations meetings and the Association of BC Students on a regular basis.
Brar was elected VP Student Life, in which she is responsible for planning student life on campus and coordinating campus events with the university. She will also be responsible for encouraging existing student groups to organize their own events, encouraging student membership, and working with the student life committee.
The council will have their next meeting on May 13 at 10:00 am on the Surrey campus. Future meetings are tentatively scheduled for the first Friday of each month, with the exception of July and August where meetings will be held the second Friday.
