Students sit in on November BOG meeting

Posted by admin on Dec 5, 2007 in News | 0 comments

Trinity Western University Student Association President Brian Weir and Executive Vice President Kerala Levitt were invited to sit in on the Board of Governors meeting at the beginning of November, the first official time students have done so.

The chairs of both the staff and faculty associations were also asked to join in.

Both TWUSA representatives were allowed to sit in on the majority of the multi-day meeting, minus a few more sensitive sessions, such as a part discussing administrative salaries.

According to Weir, the time was allotted to specific board members, so he was not given time to speak, but “I did have many opportunities to speak with board members during breaks and dinner,” he said.

Student representation has long been an issue at TWU, but steps are being taken to make sure student voices are heard. The BOG has been exploring a new governance model this past year, called the Carver Model, which would place President Jonathan Raymond as an ex-officio board member. According to Weir, the new model would also make it easier to have a student as an ex-officio member as well.

But, he says, “I don’t know how soon we will have students as voting members, and I’m not sure if that’s necessary.”

Weir said he hopes that, in time, a student will be allowed to make a presentation to the BOG presenting student needs and opinions.

Other means of representation is the formation of a student, staff and faculty council purposed to advise the University Policy Council, which is made up of members of the Administration. “Right now it looks like it’ll meet once per month,” said Weir, and will begin meeting in early January.

In order to find out what the student voice is saying, TWUSA is exploring other means of connecting with the student body.

For instance, Weir and Vice President of Student Relations Alison Fraser have begun weekly meetings called “Popcorn and Politics,” where students are invited to meet with the executives and discuss issues that face them. They are slotted to continue weekly until the end of the school year.

The first week covered the new Campus Master Plan, while the second dealt with tuition.

“It’s a time for students to come together and discuss ideas,” said Fraser.

Both Weir and Fraser have hosted dorm meetings and gone to RAD groups to connect with students.

“We now have ways to speak into the university at every level,” said Weir. “We want to not only hear the student voice but gather the ideas and turn them into a focus and think of creative ways to affect change.”

Fraser agrees. “It’s about getting proposals and initiatives started, asking ‘what can we speak into about this institution?’” she said, adding that “it can’t stop at tossing around ideas. [We need to] develop things to take to the administration.”

To attend “Popcorn and Politics,” visit the TWUSA office Wednesday afternoons at 2:30.