St. Francis Xavier University Students' Union
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| Motto | For Students. By Students |
|---|---|
| Established | 1965 |
| Institution | St. Francis Xavier University |
| Location | Antigonish, Nova Scotia |
| Members | |
| Affiliations | CASA, ANSSA |
| Homepage | http://theu.ca/ |
The StFX Student Union, known as The U, represents the students at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a student run organization, it represents over 4000 students and it provides many services and activities. The U sits as a voting member on the federal lobbying group CASA and provincial lobbying group ANSSA.
[edit] Structure
The U is organized as a collegial student government. Each February a president and vice president run in a slate, and are elected by the student body. The elected officials then choose an executive team which serves as their cabinet for the following year. The new executive team works to structure the following year's budget and determine the organization's direction.
The hired executive is then ratified by the student council (whom are the elected officials of the union).
The executives work at the university during the summer to plan for the following year. In September, when the students return, council becomes active and the executives and council meet to discuss the general operations of the union and report/vote/pass various issues affecting student life at X.
[edit] History
The StFX Student Union was incorporated in 1965 by James Sutton, Paul Rusynak, Thomas McGowan, Joseph Coffey and Robert Hutton. Since its incorporation, the union has been a major part of the university.
The Students’ Union initially began to represent the student body as a whole while providing activities and social events on campus as well as societies. The union has since expanded through adding services such as tutoring, student advocates, drive-home service, campus police, and a darkroom for photo developing. It has also created off campus support services such as a student food bank, housing list, as well as staff to help with tenancy concerns.
The Union was also integrated within the University administration over the years, sitting on all major committees to represent student concerns at all levels within the University.
In March 2007, Adam Harris and Marc Rodrigue were elected as Students' Union president and vice president for the 2007-2008 academic year.
In February 2008, Matt MacGillivray and Julia Clarke were elected as the Students' Union president elect and vice-president elect for the 2008-2009 academic year.
During the 2006-2007 academic year, the union brought in communications initiatives to improve signage, branding, and technologies among other things. As part of this process the StFX Students' Union was rebranded as The U.
In July 2006, the Student Union launched its new website which included the new logo.
In early 2007, the Student Union implemented a long term strategic plan which focused on communication, accountability, environmental sustainability, post-secondary research, financial growth, and enhanced internal leadership training. A new constitution, which declared the Student Union's stance on students rights issues, was also passed.
In 2004 the Union successfully lobbied the University for lighting to be installed on campus to prevent crime and sexual assault.[citation needed] They also succeeded in increasing library hours.[citation needed]
In January 2007 the Student Union organized a protest against plans to change the residences of Burke, Fraser, and Plessis into a single residence. The protest was based on the strong house spirit of each of the residences.
The well known "X-Ring" ceremony, which takes place each December, is also organized by the Students' Union.
[edit] External links
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