KSA Executives SUDS up

President Alex McGowan says the Student Union Development Summit improves the whole team

The Kwantlen Student Association’s four executives—Tanvir Singh, Rawan Ramini, Alex McGowan, and Natasha Lopes—attended the Student Union Development Summit from Aug. 11-14 this year to learn how to keep their union in tip-top shape.

Every year, the Summit aims to “bring together student union representatives from across Canada and provide them with a platform to share their experiences, ideas, and best practices for running a successful student-oriented organization,” as written on their website. According to KSA President and Vice-President External Alex McGowan, that goal was achieved in 2016.

He has been to SUDS once in the past and came out of it with a heap of criticism, which he sent along to the powers that be. Supposedly, his advice was taken into account by organizers, since he considers this year’s conference to have been much more beneficial.

“It was a lot more organized and I think there was a better turnout. There were more people, and it had sessions that were a little bit more relevant,” he says. “I think they’re learning.”

For the most part, SUDS consists of a series of workshops that train representatives to improve as professionals. Some of the workshops held at 2016’s meeting include Experimental Learning: Learning Outside the Classroom, Running Effective Advocacy Campaigns, Engaging your Membership, and Open Educational Resources.

Which of those the executives sit in for depends on their title and responsibilities. For instance, the latter is right up Vice-President Student Services Tanvir Singh’s alley, since he has been regularly advocating for open resources at KPU this year. McGowan’s favourite at the conference educated representatives on how to interact with media.

Professionals with extensive experience—such as MLA Kathy Corrigan—are also invited to the Summit to teach the representatives in their niche areas of expertise.

The conference is funded by the University of British Columbia’s Alma Mater Society and other organizations that support student health. Expenses required for the executives to attend it come out of their student-funded budget.

An individual student will pay $7.85 in multiple fees, each under $1.00, to the KSA each semester. An additional $12.00 for the KSA’s operating fund and $1.00 for their bursary fund is paid, along with an optional $80.00 for the health plan, $110 for the dental plan, and $49.50 for a Multi-Pass. For a full breakdown of student fees, read our “Where Does Your Money Go?” explainer in this issue.

In 2016, the KSA’s operating fund came to $1,159,002, roughly 10 per cent of which was spent on lobbying, including expenses for conferences. For SUDS in particular, “about $2300” was spent, claims McGowan.

In the same breath, he attests that the money is well-spent on events like SUDS, judging by the benefits that the KSA reaps from them. For instance, he values “learning about how other student unions do what they do, and learning about how [the KSA executives] can do [their] jobs better,” along with connections made by networking, which he calls “priceless.”

“For us to learn a lot about our roles, and how to fill those roles better, and for us to learn about the best practices from other student unions is really, really important,” says McGowan. “One of the purposes of having student executives is to bring some energy and fresh ideas in each year, and this is a great way to provoke that thinking and teach us how to do our jobs well.”