2 Audio Clips
I recently appeared on the NSPIRG radio show on CKDU to discuss education policy and student activism within our student lobby groups CASA and ANSSA as well as the student space referendum.
In the first clip, what I thought would be a friendly discussion turns into a debate with Ian Boyko, a three-time national chairperson of CFS (2001-2004) and now a staff member at their Ottawa office.
A couple things I'd like to note for clarification: not only is the Acadia Student Union not a member of CFS as is stated in this broadcast, but the President and Vice President Academic of the ASU chair CASA's campaign and policy committees, respectively. The ASU VPA is also treasurer of ANSSA.
It's not worth my time to point out all the problems with the CFS and you'll notice in this interview I stay positive and talk about ways we can work together. If you'd like more information about the tactics and practices of the CFS I recommend checking out the studentunion.ca weblog and watching this series of investigative reports conducted by Global TV on alleged corruption within the CFS.
Finally, I mentioned the fact that CFS spent almost $300,000 on legal action with student unions last year, most of which is related to the TravelCuts lawsuit that CFS lost. The entire yearly budget for CASA is around $500,000. It boggles the mind how much students pay to CFS and what they spend that money on.
As I mentioned on-air, all CASA and ANSSA policies are available online.
Clip 1 (.mp3 - 32 minutes)
In the second clip, Emma and I discuss the new student space plan proposed by the university. There have been some interesting recent developments in this area. Because of the DSU's Imagine '07 consultative process, the University has updated its plan to acknowledge student concerns. This includes the creation of a new Grad House across the street from the current building.
Last night, the DSU council declined to officially support either side of the referendum. The vote will take place on March 6th and 7th.
Clip 2 (.mp3 - 7 minutes)
These clips have also been added to the DSU podcast. You can subscribe here.
In the first clip, what I thought would be a friendly discussion turns into a debate with Ian Boyko, a three-time national chairperson of CFS (2001-2004) and now a staff member at their Ottawa office.
A couple things I'd like to note for clarification: not only is the Acadia Student Union not a member of CFS as is stated in this broadcast, but the President and Vice President Academic of the ASU chair CASA's campaign and policy committees, respectively. The ASU VPA is also treasurer of ANSSA.
It's not worth my time to point out all the problems with the CFS and you'll notice in this interview I stay positive and talk about ways we can work together. If you'd like more information about the tactics and practices of the CFS I recommend checking out the studentunion.ca weblog and watching this series of investigative reports conducted by Global TV on alleged corruption within the CFS.
Finally, I mentioned the fact that CFS spent almost $300,000 on legal action with student unions last year, most of which is related to the TravelCuts lawsuit that CFS lost. The entire yearly budget for CASA is around $500,000. It boggles the mind how much students pay to CFS and what they spend that money on.
As I mentioned on-air, all CASA and ANSSA policies are available online.
Clip 1 (.mp3 - 32 minutes)
In the second clip, Emma and I discuss the new student space plan proposed by the university. There have been some interesting recent developments in this area. Because of the DSU's Imagine '07 consultative process, the University has updated its plan to acknowledge student concerns. This includes the creation of a new Grad House across the street from the current building.
Last night, the DSU council declined to officially support either side of the referendum. The vote will take place on March 6th and 7th.
Clip 2 (.mp3 - 7 minutes)
These clips have also been added to the DSU podcast. You can subscribe here.
posted by Mark Coffin at 11:47 a.m.
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