News Brief: ABCS presents at KSA meeting, council proposes a women's centre
The Kwantlen Student Association held a council meeting on July 28 at 11:00 am in a hybrid format.
Council members Abdullah Randhawa, Jashandeep Singh, Jasmine Kaur Kochhar, Jashanpreet Sekhon, Amandeep Brar, Gurtejpreet Kaur Kaliyan, Jaspreet Shokar, Manraj Grewal, Asad Husain, Gurnoor Kaur, Upeksha Gunatilake, Destiny Lang, Amijot Singh, and Jashanpreet Singh Maan were present.
Jobanpreet Singh, Nitin Aggarwal, Taranpreet Singh, Akashdeep Sidhu, Akashdeep Singh, Mehakdeep Singh, and Yugveer Gill were unable to attend.
After a land acknowledgement, the Alliance of BC Students (ABCS) gave a presentation about their organization to council. The ABCS consists of five student associations across British Columbia and aims to provide affordable and high quality education to students.
The ABCS membership costs the KSA $19,212.48 annually with per student fee being $2.28. The fee changes each year depending on the student price index. Benefits of membership include collaboration with other student organizations, exchanging ideas, and access to support for student leaders.
The KSA is planning to send Husain and Kaliyan as delegates to ABCS’s annual Lobby Days conference to advocate for the issues chosen by the membership in Victoria. The students also meet with multiple MLAs and ministers.
Council also decided to amend their Regulations to increase ad hoc committee honorariums and meetings. The committee members will get an honorarium of $75 per meeting, while the chairperson gets $125 per meeting, with a maximum of 10 meetings per semester.
In their report, the social justice committee discussed the concept of female hygiene product awareness and proposed to create a women’s centre. The centre would offer free products such as tampons, sanitary napkins, and menstrual cups to students.
“Our main focus is to spread equality about women rights so they can feel confident in public,” Kaur said.
“Others should understand that this is very natural … we would be spreading awareness with the help of interactive discussions with new and existing KPU students and new staff.”
She also presented a proposal to develop a Sikh student foundation to raise awareness about the history of the Sikh community and the 1984 Sikh Genocide. The committee is looking to learn from and collaborate with other local universities about their respective Sikh associations.
The KSA is also hosting a “Melody Night” on Aug. 2 in the Surrey campus’ Cedar building Conference centre from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm. The event will include live Punjabi music and performances to celebrate cultural heritage and artistry.
Interested students can visit www.kusa.ca to reserve a spot for the event. The next council meeting is scheduled for Aug. 18 at 11:00 am in a hybrid format.
