BUSU Executive Report

September 30, 2015

Antonio Dominic Sergi, Vice President External Affairs

Federal
BUSUs Get Out the Vote Campaign is in full swing. We have begun canvassing the halls in
pursuit of pledges for prizes as well informing students of polling stations and how to register to
vote. BUSU in collaboration with Brock with support from CASA will be holding a debate with
candidates from 4 parties on October 5th (6pm: Saint Catharines 7pm: Niagara Centre) This
event is currently scheduled for Isaacs but given the increase in interest Guernsey Market has
become an option. Students will tweet their questions to @BrockBUSU or @BUSUAdvocacy
The Launch of www.BrockVotes.ca which will inform students of platform promises,
registration/polling stations, and also collect pledges. On Election day we will have a street team
of volunteers mobilizing students on campus to vote, guiding them on which busses to take to get
to polling stations etc.
During the reading week we will be pushing out an immense amount of digital content including
a recap video of the debates as well as a Q+A sessions with representatives of each political
partys on campus club.
Provincial
Over the past weeks BUSU in collaboration with OUSAs head office staff and our colleagues
from Trent- Durham S.A. have worked to put together a list of PCRs (Principles, Concerns,
Recommendations) in regards to the Student Success policy paper which we will be co-authoring
and submitting to the Fall General assembly at University of Waterloo. Now that all three parties
have consolidated their work thus far we will be working to revise, edit and organize them into a
structure which is best to write the content and research.
Prior to our last council meeting OUSA held their annual Campus Visit which was met by an
immense amount of successful discussions, research and collaboration with students as well as
other groups on campus. Thank you to everyone who helped make them feel welcome and
participated in the days activities. On Tuesday September 22 a delegation from Brock visited
Trent Durham in Oshawa to participate in OUSA Training Day. Participants were able to learn
and gain skills involving research, blogging, lobbying, hallways engagement and government
relations in general. Thank you to council members who attended and made the day one to
remember.

In addition to the work being done outlined above, a proposed new bill has been circulating
which aims to regulate student union autonomy in post-secondary sector. There are many
components to this bill which are not within the vision of the organizations we are members of
which has resulted in a review being conducted with more updates to come in the near future.
Local
Since our last meeting Brock experienced one of our biggest Homecoming as well as the Grape
and wine festivities in recent history. Homecoming weekend saw the launch of our beautiful new
Turf Field as well as the official opening of the Marilyn I Walker School of Fine and Performing
Arts. Kudos to the entire BUSU staff and volunteers who worked hard to make all these events
as safe, inclusive, fun, and a good representation of the Brock community.
On Thursday September 26th I attended Saint Catharines City Council Town and Gown
Subcommittee meeting and I am very grateful for the opportunity. On Friday September 25th
Spencer, Brian and myself toured the M.I. Walker facility downtown to evaluate how we can
make students experience there as friendly and inclusive as possible. Several ideas were
discussed and will be reported on by next meeting.
On Monday September 28th a meeting was held at the Niagara Region Public Works Committee
board room to discuss progress on the Decew Rd/ Merritville Highway Illumination Project. In
the room were representatives from several departments within the region, the Commissioner of
Transportation, myself and representatives from Brocks senior administration. Niagara Regional
council will be tasked with approving the design (to include safe bike and commuter expansion),
budget and completion by 2016. The city of Thorold will receive a report to council on Tuesday
October 6, 2015 on the design and cost analysis with the intent of including this project in the
2016 budget with completion by early 2017.
Thank you for your continued consideration and time commitment to our organization.