WLUSU Open Forum – Brantford Campus Council

Please note that the comments and questions listed below are a result of typing as the individuals spoke and, as such, should be treated as a summary of the general response and NOT as a direct quote. Paraphrasing has been utilized in some situations and complete answers are not given. These responses should be treated as general guidelines to the response and do not reflect the full answer by the candidate.

Brantford Campus Council

-          Nick Savage, Cameron McGregor, Sue Matthews, Amanda Thomas, Courtney Skye

Dave Prang Moderates – 1 minute opening statements, 30 second closing statements

Nick Savage – Second year leadership student w/ business administration option. Member of LSA and involvement with recruitment and intramurals. We’re going into year 11 of Laurier Brantford and I promise to get the ball. Connection, Cohesion, Unity.

Connection – Small campus, you’ll know people just walking through campus. Want to promote that in Brantford and include the Waterloo campus and include Nipissing in this connection. Have a bigger Nipissing presence and have more activities like the WLU/NU soccer game.

Cohesion – Have more activities, communication and activities. Brantford had Stereos concert, but no one in Waterloo heard of it. As Brantford has buses to Waterloo for events, we should have them in return.

Community – to get the ball rolling on a more prominent Brantford campus.

Cameron McGregor – 2^nd year running for BCC. Had great experience last year, and still feel I can make the same positive influence on the Laurier campus and the community. Lots of Nipissing students on this campus, including myself. We need to keep doing the job we’re doing, but we need more communication.

Make the diverse community more at whole with itself. I have become a leading member with the Laurier Brantford Rainbow Alliance, to help fill the needs that have not been met. Next year I would like to see a committed space for a Diversity Centre like the system in Waterloo. We require the same thing in a publicly seen area, but private. I want you to elect someone who you feel you can talk to and listen too to trust to give your opinion to the BoD.

Sue Matthews – My motto is to risk, to care, to dream and to expect beyond. This is my second year running and I have come back with more passion than ever. I have been extensively involved. I am currently a book buddy for LSFL, VP for Diversity Club, Go Team Member, being a VP Liaison for BRC. All this leadership experience has made me into a stronger leader and made me optimistic. This has contributed to my knowledge of programming for the students. Progress is inevitable, but it is your responsibility to elect the right person to initiate the process. My platform is to be the voice of every student here and to be the friendly face around campus that you can see.

Amanda Thomas – My first step towards changing the world is running for BCC. 3^rd year journalism student, currently VP Recruitment for Journalist for Human Rights group. My platform is based on access, communication, visibility. Some students didn’t know what the BCC does, so I think I would like to promote the visibility on campus. I’m approachable, so students wouldn’t have a problem coming to me with their issues. There needs to be more communication between Brantford and Waterloo campuses. When I did some reading at their open forum, they said that they weren’t very sure what was happening at the Brantford campus. I also think that we should associate more with Nipissing and Mohawk College as I feel that we could all come together and bring a wealth of resources and a good network. Access to better services and to a safe campus are key. Visibility, Communication and Access are what I would bring to the table.

Courtney Skye – 3^rd year of Leadership. I am a transfer student, so I have been to college and this is my first year at Laurier. I’m part of the LSA, founder of Gender Equity club to empower male and female students, to challenge them and their beliefs. Secretary for NSA, member of Rotaract, and on Diversity Steering Committee. As a college student, I was a res assistance, residence council, criminal justice association, police foundations. I’m passionate about student leadership, I write adventuresinstudentleadership.blogspot.com. I love to get involved, but what I want to do is have communications. I want campuses to know what’s going on, I want to see us coming together. If there’s two clubs doing the same thing at this school, let’s get them together. This year I’m working with diversity groups to help arrange a film festival this week. I want to avoid waste overlap, improve communication, and I want to have events that focus on students from off campus. I want students from off campus to feel like they’re part of this community. I’m going to be that person that goes out and asks every student what they want out of this university.

Questions:

-          Any specific initiatives that you want to start communicating on between campuses?

• Cam – I mean not discussing every issue, because campus-specific issues are not relevant to the other. However when we feel there’s an issue going on here, we feel we should be able to access the resources of the Waterloo campus. It’s a lot easier to talk to a friend than a stranger. If that means visiting Waterloo more and having you come down to our event, that’s fine.
• Sue – I feel we’re not going to be communicating on every small detail, but for example the Diversity Club. I know Waterloo has a huge diversity initiative, and we can work together. For example sending emails back and forth, sending minutes from meetings, however our topics won’t always be correlated, but there will be major topics that affect each one of us.
• Amanda – I agree with the first two candidates in that we shouldn’t overlap. But perhaps, the WLUSU website there can be a common page about all Laurier students, rather than just specifically the two. Since you have a bigger campus, you will have bigger and maybe better events that we could have access to and have you down to our events. I also think maybe some kind of shuttle service between the campuses.
• Courtney – We need to be able to communicate with each other. We need to have communication to the campus. Potentially somewhere on campus to go and get information, or a website, or a TV that constantly changes and updates with new information. Reaching out to the students, instead of saying you can come to us.
• Nick – When I was in high school, we did a lot of activities that practiced debriefing. Laurier held its first Homecoming this year and we could hold a debrief with the Waterloo athletics council to talk about what went well, what could have gone better and determine what needs to be improved on. Communication about events, for example posters, communicating with Waterloo about upcoming events would be excellent.

-          What steps will you take to become more visible and once visible, what do you plan to do

• Sue – I would go into classes before they begin and introduce myself and ask everyone during the day, shake hands, make everyone know that you’re there for them. That your sole purpose is to represent the student body.
• Amanda – To be more visible, we need to have more events. Everyone goes to the local bars; potentially we could have events there or put up posters. Once we do get visible, we can communicate better with students and meet their needs
• Courtney – WLUSU is present in this school and it’s important to brand it. Shamelessly promote and advertise ourselves to make students know what’s going on. That’s how students get engaged and recognize how students get involved. Then reach out and see how to provide these opportunities for students
• Nick – I think WLUSU does a good job of getting our names out there. Every event that we have promotes WLUSU during O-Week, for example. The key for this is to reinforce it. Don’t stop at O-Week, have other events through the year to promote WLUSU. Communicate what WLUSU can do for every student.
• Cam – I feel going to a hawk team event is important. Hawk Team posted a survey asking about what types of events they wanted and running something that fit with the majority. I feel that being a BCC member, showing concrete results to the surveys that we run will be an excellent way just to further our names. Students don’t know about the process of getting things approved, we need to show them results.

-          Many of you spoke about joint programs. Could you concretely identify some ways that you’re going to  do or perhaps identify some ways you’re going to solidify these arrangements

• Amanda – I thought more about the students being together, like running hockey games, etc. In terms of contractual agreements, Laurier and Nipissing are connected through the coned program, though I’m not sure how Mohawk are connected. Though once we know more about them, we may be able to get them connected
• Courtney – I think WLUSU is bound to recognizing all of their students, and we have some students at this campus that go to a different educational institution. Bound to all students, address their needs
• Nick – nip has limited student representation, talking to nip North Bay – what can we do to make the university better?
  • Create a contract that represents the needs of the students better
• Cameron – nip news included in the WLU weekly news, which helps, but not. Concrete example is the Laurier/Nipissing Hockey game. It’s set up through LBA and SAC. They do a very good job of communicating with each other; however SAC is a limited council. If we were able to get more people out for that group, then maybe it would be easier to connect with these students. For example hey do events to raise money for different efforts that are similar to those of Project Empathy.
• Sue – Cameron talked about NU, but what about Mohawk? Do we have a way to work with them? We need to get our ideas together, go up to Mohawk College and see what they have and what their council does. NU is big and influential, but what about Mohawk. They have the same O-Week as us; perhaps we could connect that way.

-          Of connecting with the main campus, NU or Mohawk, which is most important to the growth of Brantford? How do you plan to balance

• Courtney – I think the most important relationship to develop is with the Brantford community. Students are also citizens of the Brantford community and as part of Rotaract I got out into the community to work with our local residents. Mohawk and NU can be fostered in the academic environment but I’m also concerned about how students spend their spare time when they’re not in class.
• Nick – I agree with Courtney. We need to connect with the Brantford community. That said, we are Laurier and we need to connect a lot more with the Waterloo campuses and I think the campuses should get ‘on-par’ so you’re not saying “main campus” vs. “Waterloo campus” . I think we need to connect with Waterloo, not just in student services but even in things like academic advising.
• Cam – I have a lot of friends that go to the Waterloo campus and sometimes when we talk, they ask why they should have to care about the Brantford campus and have their fees go there. We are the fastest growing campus and who is to say that in the future we won’t be the same size or bigger than Waterloo. We need to develop ways in which we could develop communication that will foster taking metropolitan courses together, etc. WE can do that through the means already mentioned. I think that is our most important gain.
• Sue – I don’t feel that any of the groups is more important than the other. I feel like Brantford has so much to offer and the city values our presence here. They cater to us and they’re very happy that they’re here. Going to the city of Brantford itself. See what they can do for us; see what they can do to increase our experience. What can we do with their facilities, use Brantford to our advantage. Brantford as a city is growing and is a great opportunity.
• Amanda – I think that Brantford is a really good community to be in. They have JCI to join which is a great resource for leadership students. I think we also need to connect with Waterloo since we are the same University. We need to be equals. It’s important to develop with NU because they’re here right now with us. I really wish we could connect with Waterloo more, because we should all feel like its one university instead of separate ones.

-          There’s a perception that students come to Laurier Brantford for first & second year, then move to a different school or transfer to different schools. Why does this occur at LB and how do you think that council can help? Is that an issue for WLUSU?

• Nick – A lot of students will transfer to Waterloo for courses. We have a limited course selection here. Even though they are great courses, there are a lot of courses like economics (etc) that we are lacking. I think that would be one of the main issues. As for issues such as moving to different schools or closer to the GTA, there are extenuating circumstances such as funds that can play into the decision. I think the courses are what we should address mainly as a council.
• Cam – I have met many students who have moved on to other universities or campuses. In my experience it is because they want to specifically dive into one issue and they feel they can do that better at a different campus. Offering different courses with more specific focuses will help. I feel that for WLUSU, this year’s gains in programming diversity will help, as I think some students have left because they did not feel as though their needs were being met.
• Sue – LB is a specialized campus. We have a ConEd program, Criminology, Journalism, etc. What about students who want to major in Business, Math, and Science. We don’t have enough courses for people to specialize in these feels. It’s also about campus life. Sometimes people don’t feel that they’re getting the full campus experience. As BCC we need to make sure that we’re catering to their positive university experience. It is because of our specialized campus and limited courses that people transfer. It’s a long-stage process to look into changing courses
• Amanda – I think business and music is a lot of what students want. I also wanted to do business and journalism, but I had to stick to journalism. Other students have moved campuses because of that. Off campus students have a different experience. In first year I was off campus and wanted to leave too. Off campus, only when you came to campus would you know what was going on and sometimes they were too far, etc to go to. Focusing on off-campus students would be a good way to start.
• Courtney – I think there’s a possibility for WLUSU to handle this. There are a lot of students that come here and don’t develop a passion for Laurier. It’s important that WLUSU help foster this and help people fall in love with being here. We need to focus on the students who are off campus and commute here. We need to create events and communication that will engage these people. Students here in CS should be able to access things that will help with employment and speak to their personal interests.

-          What is the biggest thing missing at Laurier Brantford, from a student experience standpoint and why? How can BCC contribute to addressing that one thing

• Cam – I have a very enjoyable time here, however knowing many first years, including a foot patrol walk, a student told me she wasn’t enjoying her time here. She felt there was no unifying sense and that she was isolated from upper years. Why would she talk to them/know them. The campus connection and spirit is at a disconnect. At hockey games, we see groups of friends cheering on the team, but they are there as friends, and friends of friends, but not as a whole. We need to listen to our students and establish a unifying experience.
• Sue – We don’t have a large population. That’s why they feel as though they are constricted to the same people, the same routines every day. I believe that there can be a lot of groups that form because of human nature, but what if there’s a large group of people. More groups to join, more people to connect with. That’s why people who feel out of place will have a difficult time forming relationships. People who are quiet, not as easy going and outgoing as all of us will find it more difficult to join. As successful BCC members, we need to cater to everyone and whatever they want will be given.
• Amanda – I feel that while everything is fine in Brantford, I think it would be a lot better if we had the option of a meal plan and better gym facilities, as that’s what I’ve heard many people want. If people go to other universities to visit friends and see the stuff they have, and then come back to Brantford – these are things we need to address. BCC may not have the authority, but it’s something we need to look into. WE also need to give everyone more of a community feel. Some people may not connect with others, so we need to cater to them as well
• Courtney – One of the biggest barriers is because we’re spread out over so many different buildings and there’s a perception that Brantford is sketchy and people are worried about their personal safety. WE need to address that and make sure that students are not at risk. They need to feel safe walking to classes, have access to foot patrol. I’m working now to increase female self defence training and male tactical de-escalation training. WLUSU’s priority needs to be talking to students and finding out what they consider wrong with campus. Find out what students want to change.
• Nick – Through the business classes that I’ve taken at Laurier, I’ve learned that businesses develop over time. We can’t expect to start this new campus and ten years later expect it to be just the same as every campus. Talking to other students, the basic things we came up with as issues were: a pub, a cafeteria, and a bigger gym. A gym is in the works, but the initiative needs to come from WLUSU for the other things. We can’t just expect a pub to open tomorrow, but we can plan. Look at feasible locations, design, timeline, etc.

-          As BCC is representation of students and BOD is execution of operations, how will you make sure you don’t cross the line of operations vs. representation?

• Sue – Basically, you need to know your restrictions, know who you’re allowed to work with and know your area. You can also work with the other counselors and see if you are crossing the lines or not and read the policies and stay within the lines. You are elected to work specifically within your zone. Read up on what you’re expected and not expected and rely on other counselors to make sure that you’re not stepping over the line
• Amanda – I think that it’s important not to cross over lines and step on toes. We should know what we can and cannot do, however if the needs of the students are things that would be management issues, we should give them to the management so that we could advise them about what to do. We don’t want to do their job, but we want to advise them of what the students need
• Courtney – I think the most important thing in the advisory role is to foster the environment that we’re on the same team. While we’re representing the Brantford campus, it’s important to work with those involved in the day-to-day operations to make sure that we hear their opinions and to work with them, but to make sure we don’t take over. It’s important to have a strong relationship with operations people as they’re on the front lines. It’s also important to share ideas, as we’re also students here and have needs that must be met.
• Nick – At the beginning of our term, have a meeting with people from Operations. Throw out the ideas; see what Operations says and what they think are reasonable for operations to execute versus BCC. Over the rest of the year, build the relationship and go back to operations and see if they see what the ideas are. Being able to start the relationship early and have the communication that says “here are our ideas, can we do them feasibly or is this more your jurisdiction”
• Cam – My understanding of the BCC is that we’re advisors of the Brantford campus to the Board who oversees the President who oversee the VPs. We’re not a 4-man army, we’re not to take events and run them. However, we can advise and guide the ideas for programming or advise the Board for them to take it under their wing to be passed down and along so that we’re following the same procedures. As far as events go, I don’t think we should tell them what events to run or undertake them ourselves, but we are here to advise.

Closing Statements

Courtney – When I decided to run for this position, I was hesitant as I’m involved in campus anyway. Ironically a John Mayer song came on and said “It’s hard to make a difference, when you’re standing at a distance” and I think that’s important. I would love for students to vote for me and let me make a difference. I feel I have strong ideas and am able to get involved in campus life. I want to let students know that I believe in them. These students are going to be the leaders of our society. They need to be empowered to have a great experience here so they can go out into the world to make a difference. I think students need to achieve the most that they can here so they have the best student experience possible.

Amanda – being a 3^rd year student, I have seen a bunch of developments in the Brantford campus like the opening of Williams, the St. Andrews building, the new residences. It’s a good improvement and I would like to be a part of making sure that these improvements continue and that the needs of the students are met. Even though we are developing, we shouldn’t forget the consequences, like pollution – we need to be environmentally friendly. There’s a Brantford group that works with 6-nations to prevent urban sprawl and prevent environmental destruction. We don’t want big buildings at the expense of polluting. I think it’s important to encourage professors to go online and let us submit papers online, to cut back on a lot of waste paper. During campaigning even if we could all recycle the posters and flyers. If you vote for me, I will try to promote a sustainable, safe and diverse campus.

Sue – We all have ideas, we all have goals, but what defines a true leader is putting those goals into action. Last year, I was the only female that ran for this position, but look at us now. My most realistic goal now is to get out there and see what the student body wants. Considering the population is 80% female, I consider that an advantage. We need to see what they want, what’s better for the students and be the friendliest face they can be. There are ideas, but we need to get the ball rolling. As we work collaboratively, that will be possible. My theme is risk more, care more, dream more and expect more than ever.

Cam – This year there are 3 female candidates. Last year, I thought it was important that there be a female presence on the council. I haven’t even been elected, and look my dreams have come true. I am a very trustworthy person and I have a backbone, so I will be able to stand up for what the Brantford campus needs. I am also very courteous, I will make sure I’m in the right place to do my job and compromise to help. My ideas on a diverse community are key.

Nick – As I said in my opening statement, my goal is to get the ball rolling. My goal is to maintain the idea and ideals of the Brantford campus but to also be the fastest growing campus in Ontario. To be as modern as the CS programs and Leadership programs and to just be incredible. Everyone looks at Laurier as a great university. That’s what Laurier is and that’s what Brantford is. I’m one of the most enthusiastic students at Laurier Brantford and I love this campus and everything about it. I know as a BCC member I will be able to use that passion and what I have learned to make it even better than it already is.