Board battle blows over

U of R president Timmons isn’t mad with URSU, seriously

Minuteman
John Cameron
Editor-in-Chief

Timmons not-really-vs. URSU

In the climax to an escalating clash of wills between the University of Regina administration and the U of R Students’ Union, U of R president Vianne Timmons sat down with the URSU board of directors and, well, fielded polite questions.

Timmons, there to talk with the board about the aftermath of URSU’s parking campaign from last month, spoke at the start of the board meeting. She stressed both that the relationship between URSU and the administration remains “great” and that she was just there to improve communication between both parties.

“I want you to be critical,” she told the board.

Education director Mariah Perkins asked if the administration had followed up on any of the suggestions from last month’s parking forum. Timmons responded that a letter detailing just that has been sent to URSU president Kent Peterson.

After ten minutes of congenial conversation, Timmons and the board thanked each other for their respective time, and Timmons went on her way.

Nursing dues blues

Fun fact for nursing students at the U of R: URSU collects the regular amount of full-time students’ union fees from you, but you only spend half your time on campus.

Sound unfair? You’ll be pleased to know that both URSU and the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology (SIAST) apparently feel the same way. They just haven’t worked out the details for fixing it quite yet.
Representatives from both parties have been working to hammer out a deal to split fees between both institutions – or, in the case of students at SIAST’s Kelsey campus in Saskatoon, to remit those fees entirely, since they’d pay for services accessible only to students located in Regina, such as URSU’s student advocate.

Mike Staines, URSU’s general manager, stopped by the board meeting to deliver a quick update and run the board through the major parts of the contract. Negotiations are ongoing, especially between URSU and SIAST Wascana. We’ll keep you posted.

Etcetera

URSU voted on the JDC West team sponsorship proposal presented to the board last month; the total sponsorship was amended down to $3,000 from $5,000 and approved.

The board also approved $2,500 to fix the “ugly wiring” in the Owl ceiling where the old DJ booth used to be and $4,000 for new chairs for the computer lab in the second floor of Riddell Centre.

Finally, the Cougars Racing team thanked URSU for their $1,500 worth of sponsorship last term by showing the board part of a short documentary on the team’s efforts in Peoria, IL this summer and presenting the board with a commemorative plaque.

The next URSU meeting is on Thursday, Nov. 1 at 5:30 p.m.