Accomplishments from the 2015–16 term
By Mercedes Deutscher, News Editor
Greg Teuling and Pardeep Jaswal, both members at large, are 2 of 12 students who represent Douglas students as a whole.
The Representative Committee of the Douglas Students’ Union provides input and oversight of the DSU’s operations. They ask students for their input on college events, such as DSU food events, and focus on student life. They focus on providing a wide variety of inclusive and diverse clubs, and celebrating what makes Douglas students unique.
The committee itself is made up of a College Relations Coordinator (Ruab Waraich), a David Lam Campus Coordinator (Pawan Johal), an External Relations Coordinator (Chris Budzynski), an Internal Relations Coordinator (Derek Goundar), a Treasurer (Karan Bains), three Members at Large (Pardeep Jaswal, Greg Teuling, and Makailey Preston), an Aboriginal Liaison (Garaline Tom), a Disabled Students’ Liaison (Jerzy Mazurek), a Pride Liaison (Marni McMillan), and a Women’s Liaison (Raquel Amado).
Jaswal explained that the committee acts responsible as a voice for the students, and emphasized that the committee’s first responsibility is to act in the best interest of the student body.
Teuling described the overarching goals of the committee, which are “to provide Douglas college students with advocacy on the local, provincial, and federal levels.”
The committee works to represent the concerns of Douglas not only within the college, but externally as well. They ensure that Douglas College is represented within the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS)—in fact, members of the committee attended the CFS Annual General Meeting in Ottawa this year to ensure the issues of Douglas student were heard on a national level.
Students have an opportunity to elect a new committee once per year in April. Both Teuling and Jaswal described the election as hard work, where candidates campaigned on different slates (platforms of student issues) to appeal to the general Douglas student population.
Teuling explained that, despite being entrusted by voting students to run DSU operations, students still need to be involved between elections. According to him, the lack of student involvement last fall nearly resulted in Douglas students losing their U-Pass.
“A minority of students almost voted to get rid of the U-Pass for all Douglas students based on low turnout and a confusing referenda question. Students need to be active on campus and be aware of the issues that affect them.”