News brief: KSA spends additional $15,000 on concert tickets, shares health and dental plan updates

The Kwantlen Student Association approved another $15,000 for concert tickets in two non-meeting motions presented during an executive committee meeting on Aug. 11.

The motions, which were of $7,500 each, went towards purchasing tickets for a Nirvair Pannu show held on Aug. 2 at Queen Elizabeth Theatre.

During a July 24 executive committee meeting, the KSA presented passed non-meeting motions totalling $32,000 in concert ticket funding — $14,000 of which was for the Pannu show. 

Vice-President Student Life Ishant Goyal said all the approved funding for the Pannu show went towards 200 tickets for students.

In total, the student association’s spending on concert tickets presented during the two executive committee meetings was $47,000 — almost a fifth of the entire KSA-held events budget of $250,000 for the whole year.

Goyal said “there was a demand for more tickets from the students,” even after the first 100 tickets were purchased.

Students were informed via the KSA’s Instagram that concert tickets were available and could be picked up at the executive committee’s office, Goyal said.

The executive committee also approved $1,923 for its KSA Got Talent event and $900 for the Kwantlen Sikh Students’ Association’s (KSSA) Rediscovering Sikh Literature event.

At the KSA’s council meeting on Aug. 12, Faculty of Arts Representative Amanpreet Singh was removed and replaced from multiple committees. Queer Students Representative Yuvraj Bains wrote in the meeting’s Microsoft Teams chat that Singh will be away for other commitments and will return in the fall semester.

The KSA also held an executive committee meeting on Aug. 27. 

In his report, Goyal said that he met with student health and dental plan provider Gallivan to renegotiate some plan benefits. He added the association is in discussions with the health-care provider to cover benefits so the KSA wouldn’t have to withdraw funds from its reserves. 

Goyal said he has been planning events for the fall semester, including Welcome Week and Clubs Day, which will be held mid-October. 

“This year, we are going to have a Halloween party, either on campus or off campus, depending on the logistics and space availability.”

In the meantime, Goyal said the association will be organizing giveaways for the upcoming festive season. 

The executive committee also approved $3,200 for the Sociology Student Club’s meet-and-greet event, $1,000 for the KSSA’s Jaswant Singh Khalra exhibition and talk event, $930 for the KPU Badminton Club’s Richmond tournament, $480 for the Kwantlen Psychology Society’s (KPS) Welcome Week booth, $275 for the Sustainability Club’s Welcome Week booth, and $134.38 for the KPS’s study session. Two motions for the KPU Pinoy Club were deferred.

The next KSA council and executive committee meetings are scheduled for Sept. 3. Interested students can email info@kusa.ca to join the meeting.