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Think for yourself and question authority
Polling Stations
Polling stations are as follows:
9:30 am to 4:30 pm Tuesday February 6th, 2007 and Wednesday February 7th, 2007
Polls will be open until 7pm on Tuesday February 6, 2007 in MUSC and in Mills.
Polling locations:
Polls will be open until 7pm on Tuesday February 6, 2007 in MUSC and in Mills.
Polling locations:
- BSB Lobby
- Commons Lobby
- David Braley
- JHE Lobby
- MDCL x 2
- MGD
- Mills Lobby
- MUSC by Williams
- Mary E. Keyes Lobby
- TSH Lobby
Debate Times/Locations
- Jan 31 - 5:00-6:30 pm/Commons
- Feb 1 - 2:00-4:00 pm/ Council Chambers
- Feb 5 - 12:00-3:00 pm/ MUSC Atrium
Mini Pool fog
37 comments:
I am voting for Tyler. I spoke to him and he is going to ban corporate gifts. I am sick of the MSU lining its pockets and doing nothing for me!
The big thing for me reading the Sil answers by the candidate is the whole Vice-President thing. I mean, come on! How can you claim to be MY Vice-President when you are not even elected by students, just from buddies on the SRA. Tyler will give students the power to elect Vice-Presidents. The clique candidates were both basically saying that I, as a student, am too stupid to do so.
What I find interesting is that a lot of the campaigns are about "putting You back in the MSU." What was I doing out of it in the first place? I pay them good money (which I'm sure line at least RM's and DM's pockets very nicely right now) so who are they to take me out.
"which I'm sure line at least RM's and DM's pockets very nicely right now"
Dude the pay of the VP's is so low I am sure they can still qualify for welfare. On that note though, yes both of their responses (especially Drew's) came off as 'THE SYSTEM IS FINE'.. which is never good, because 1. Its not, and 2. Anything anywhere can always use change and new ideas.
I am still undecided as to where my second vote is going (go Emery!), and I think I am essentially right now balancing Tyler's seemingly stupid ideas against Ryan's seemingy complacency.
Ryan did bring up a good point about how technically it is easier to recall the VP's under the current system. Because realistically, the president is IMPOSSIBLE to recall. Think about it... getting 3% of the student population to sign a petition is one thing, but getting 15% of people out to vote is another. Even if the president didn't do anything... attend meetings, file reports, nothing... people are way to apthetic to even care, because all the services would still function smoothly (probably more smoothly), so it wouldn't realistically affect anyone. I think Tommy made the comment on how if there were no president, it wouldn't really matter.
actually, the VPs make
$27900.08 a year which is well above the welfare cut-off
they also get free bus passes from the MSU (not the sticker kind but the $65/mth kind), they get a full benefits package, the perks, and the retreats. Not a bad job at all.
to put it in perspective,
The President of the largest student union (UBC) in Canada makes $20,931/yr. The UBC union is 2.5 times the size of the McMaster one.
The President of the University of Toronto Students' Union makes $25,525/yr
The President of the University of Manitoba Students' Union which is 50% larger than us makes $25,000/yr.
It was $30,000 a year at UMSU prior to a student revolt there that threw out a clique that was called the 'G8'. I was on council there when the pay was cut.
Ok, I concede my 'welfare' comment was over-exagerated, and that the earning figure is slightly higher than what I thought it was. But regardless, the wages of the presidents you listed are pretty low considering the size of organizations they are heading. If UBC, etc are setup anywhere similar to the MSU, then they will essentially be multi-million dollar organizations. And you can't expect quality people to run if they are going to take on what should be a task of leading and managing a multi-million dollar buisness if they are going to be paid low rates like that.
For example, a lot of people tried to get me to run for the position, but the rate of pay for the president, with the buyout instead of residence, is below $30 000. Now I, with an Engineering Physics and Management degree as well as an extensive background in student organizations, McMaster and the MSU, would be a good candidate, but that figure is at least half of my expected earnings for a full time job. At the bare minimum, as a member of the Canadian Forces, I could go full time right now and make $56 000 in the regular force. You have to concede that the pay is not competitive enough to attract the most competent candidates.
Joey,
what 'perks' are you talking about ??
Considering what happened the last few years that the Sil endorsed a candidate, I guess this means Ryan's going to win. :p
Seriously, though, Tyler does seem to be well-meaning, and seems to have thought his platform through (his "lower food prices" plan, for instance, would be done through Quarters/Union Market, which the MSU does have control over).
I have to wonder how Tyler and Ryan wound up with the same slogan, spelled differently... I mean, what kind of crappy planning is that?
actually, the Sil has endorsed all the winners since 1999
Are you sure about that one ??
The Silhouette endorsed the eventual winner in 1999 (Burke Christian), 2001 (Sam Minniti), 2005 (Tommy Piribauer), and 2006 (John Popham) --- but NOT in any of 2002, 2003, or 2004. Not sure about 2000.
I am pretty sure they endorsed Mark in 2000
Perks
free cover at Quarters
Line-by pass at Quarters
free coffee/tea at Union Market
10% off at Union Market
discounts on personal copying at Design and Copy
other perks like free dinners and stuff from the University at various functions where they just sit in the crowd
open bar included at some of these events
Don't forget free food at SRA meetings and food at the major committee meetings.
Also to clarify the free coffee is only on Wednesdays and the discount is only on Tuesday. Additionally, the printing perks are very limited.
On that note, I have often used the 'perks' to get constituents a free coffee while we talk about whatever issues and to use the printing discounts to help people save money.
lol open bar.... you make it seem like as soon as they find out, they go and get totally wasted. they do perform their jobs professionally. We can give them that much at least.
and if most of those free dinners are put on by the university, not the MSU (and most if not all are), then shouldnt you be taking your qualms to another body?
and im sure if the President turned down all of those 'free' dinners with GASP open bars, someone else would complain saying 'our president isnt doing anything' or 'our president isnt representing students'.
and the msu and SRA should pay for their own coffee dagnabbit!
You are correct on the dinners. In terms of the open bar, I have had it relayed to me that they do take advantage of it.
I do have my bias on the free dinners. I seconded a motion when I was on UMSU Council which requires the UMSU Executive to first get approval from Council to attend a free dinner. It passed with the support of the Executive there. Actually, when I moved the attempt to ban the acceptance of Corporate Gifts by the MSU Executive, UMSU Councillors who follow my blog realized that UMSU did not have a ban on corporate gifts either. The UMSU President quickly moved a complete ban on gift acceptance. Meanwhile, the MSU Executive has prevented any ban from existing at McMaster Students Union.
I will try to pass the same motion at the next General Assembly (Ryan Moran has not called one at all) and probably get banned from all MSU space again for it.
In short (on the dinners);
There are some that are necessary, but others are not. It is a hard line to find.
Of an MSU General Assembly, Joey Coleman writes: "Ryan Moran has not called one at all". As VP-Administration Ryan Moran doesn't have the constitutional authority to call a General Assembly. The MSU president (John Popham) does, as does the SRA, or a petition signed by 2% of the MSU membership (about 400 students). If you're going to take a swipe at somebody for failing to do something, let it be about something over which they have control.
The GAs have been called and organized by the VP Admin for a few years now. The President is merely the rubber stamp
"I have had it relayed to me that they do take advantage of it."
funniest line ever.
joey you are the living end.
Do you not get 'perks' or benefits from any job that you work at?? You get discounts if you work at a clothing store, discounts at food places if you work there, people who work at a car dealership usually get employee pricing etc..
Are the so called benefits that MSU volunteers get not just similar to other places of work?
OK, what i can't believe is if this is about the Sil's endorsement of a candidate why has no one yet spoken about the poor POOR quality of that editorial. First of all the ridiculous spelling mistakes, the incoherent grammatical errors, and the completely non-insightful discussion of why he was chosen. Whether or not he is an acceptable candidate, i would think that endorsement would be a dis-service to his campaign.
I recall the more quality days of the Sil, the days when it wasn't violating its own journalistic integrity through poor editing and irrelevant articles, the Sil clique is going to need to pick itself up if it wants to get back to the actual admirable student journalism that it use to practice, either that or i am expecting to see articles about "bat boy" and Lindsay Lohan adorning its front page next year.
This editorial endorsement is just the perfect example of poor quality student journalism, among my favourite aspects is the blurred picture and point 20 size font. I remember a time when that endorsement article HAD to be tiny print, because the points they made and the justifications behind their endorsement were not only worthwhile, but made sense and were worth the time of the person reading it.
Wow this has been a departure from the post topic
hey dude(tte) lindsay lohan is hot and batman is cool. don't you be putting them in the same category as the sil's writing!
Really? As far as I remember (7 years) the Sil has always sucked at editing, etc.
I cannot disagree with your points.
The challenge they face right now is that we are short staffed. They lost their Editor due to a dispute with the BoD. The BoD when on a rampage against the student press. A bunch of the staff burned out trying to pick up that slack and it has been downhill from there. The people left are doing the best they can. I agree that the Sil is shit right now... what are you going to do to help?
to Danny:
Lindsay Lohan has siginificantly decreased in hotness, if you're gonna call her hot then go down to Kentucky and buy a trailer too.
And i said "bat boy," not Batman, bat boy was the frequent front page star of the Weekly World News, so get with it on those pop culture references.
To Action:
Agreed, the quality of the sil has never in my time been spectacular. But this year, even prior to the BoD's "rampage," it was as if it had been downgraded from the Globe and Mail to the National Enquirer (or National Post, they're both pretty bad). In fact, the only time this year that i saw a bit of a step up in its quality and timeliness was following the dismissal of the editor.
to Anonymous:
Why should it be about "How i am going to help?" They're the "journalists," not me. I am a reader, one of the few, so that is what i am doing, i am not going to, nor will i volunteer for a service for the purpose of compensating for someone else's complete lack of journalistic abilities.
Besides, i atleast remember seeing posters and other advertisments around school in years past trying to encourage students to volunteer for the sil, this is something i have not seen for two years, (making me think that the sil clique must be quite happy with its mediocrity). In fact the only time i have seen something close to such encouragement, was when i saw a table for it in the musc in January, again, following the dismissal of the original editor.
Furthermore, the quality of a paper or the abilities of its staff should never be intrinsically linked to the editor. Firstly, dismissed editor or not (which was the only position the BoD "rampaged" on), articles lacking depth or research and childish spelling and grammatical errors point to the quality of the staff in general. Granted it is an executive editor who should be catching such errors, the fact that the paper was rife with them prior to his dismissal points to a very ill-capable editor, not to any sort of burn out. In fact, the only time i saw an improvement in this regard was following that editor's dismissal (this is becoming a trend). Moving on, the fact that there would be any sort of burn out to begin with points to a much larger problem, and in this case (and maybe this case alone) kutos to the BoD for uncovering it. Any burn out experienced by the staff following the dismissal would still be the fault of that executive editor, for not properly training or empowering his staff to be more independent and capable. I have it on good authority that his behaviour and role down there, prior to his removal was all but a dictatorship. This is evident in the fact that the paper had trouble functioning following his departure, in real journalism this should not be the case, an editor is not a leader, just merely the last and highest level of proofing. Everyone involved in a paper should be just as capable as the executive editor, if not trained to be so. If this is not the case then you have exactly what happened to the sil this year, burn-out and a higher level of work because the editor acted as a leader, and not as an editor. When you have a leader in charge of a paper that is a bigger threat to the journalistic integrity of that paper than any external government, because it means that you have one, sole, biased perspective permeating through all levels of that paper's production.
This was less a "rampage" on the behalf of the BoD than it was a clique losing their leader, an ill structured publication built on sand.
The problem with the arguments put forth is that no one can really figure out what the problem is at the Silhouette. I am doing my best to get myself up to a journalistic standard and I know the news team is working hard as well.
We do, frankly, have a complete lack of volunteers. Many of the papers that I really enjoy; The Gateway (www.gateway.ualberta.ca) Eyeopener (www.theeyeopener.com), The Peak (www.thepeak.com), The Manitoban (www.themanitoban.com), and the Ubyssey (www.ubyssey.bc.ca) have strong volunteer bases.
I can speak extensively to the Toban. I was never involved in the Toban because I was a member of the student government. The Toban is 100% independent of (and feared by) the student government. They are fierce about that independence. The student government went on the attack against the Toban in 02/03. Students revolted, made the paper 100% independent and the rest is history as they say. The paper is amazing some weeks. I always look forward to it hitting the racks. (Mind you that the joke edition when I was there sucked)
The Editor-in-Chief is great this year. I say this because I can see his points even if I disagree with them. Lets just say that many of my friends on UMSU Council disagree on a regular basis with the paper.
It enjoys a strong volunteer base which enables it to cover most on campus news. The political reporting (both on and off-campus) is good. I know they always had a well informed reporter at every UMSU Council meeting. The reporter also asked good questions at Council. (Note that all students at UManitoba have speaking rights at UMSU Council) (Near the end of my term, all students were given the right to move motions as well)
The Peak gets many opinion submission. Many are willing to be Politically Incorrect. Sure makes for a good read. The cartoons were great last year. I have not been as big on them this year.
Joey,
Have you ever seen "Billy Madison"? Now i am not going to say that i am dumber for having read all of your last post, because it was insightful... however, it was completely and totally irrelevant to anything that has been said under this blog topic so far.
There may have been some points regarding the toban and the peak's volunteership that came near relevancy, but otherwise, i am not quite sure what the point of that post was, it touched on nothing i had said in the post previous, nor anything anyone had said.
As for journalistic independence, that doesn't have any bearing on whether or not people contribute to a paper, or the capabilities of those who already do. If a paper is poor, it is because the staff are. And not necessarily by their own fault, but it is like an ignorance that they refuse to rectify. And if people are not contributing it is because those already working for the paper are not helping to create an atmosphere where your average student feels compelled to do so.
And i don't want to generalize, because I am sure there are some very nice, hardworking and talented people down there, but there are obviously some people down there who aren't any of those traits. Basically, as i and people i know have always understood it, the Sil is the biggest, most self righteous clique at mac, and that really came out this fall, and now you are implicated in it too, way to go.
Anon,
Love to sit down and discuss with you face-to-face.
To say I am implicated is an interesting stretch. The only reason I was not welcome before was before of the MSU, not the Sil.
I am working at the Sil but nothing about me as really changed. I am simply writing in the Sil instead of other campus papers. I am still working with other papers on a daily basis on all kinds of stories. The only thing that has changed is a decrease in blogging and articles at other papers. There are some really interesting student revolts under way against a few SUs, I just am unable to cover them. One, if successful, will be a major victory for students and will potentially cause a shake up across Canada. A simple revolt successed in Australia and students are not longer required to pay money to Students Union resulting in students saving tens of millions of dollars. Some Unions have survived, new ones have formed, and others are more successful than even in Australia all because if they do not attract students to join; they have no money to spend. Off topic, yes I know...
Why the hell is the Sil endorsing a candidate, anyway? Isn't it considered good journalism to remain objective and unbiased, especially in a political situation?
Oh wait. I think I just answered my own question.
"Love to sit down and discuss with you face-to-face."
so patronizing. sounds like you're going for the presidency joey.
joey coleman for MSU president!!!
id vote... i mean, abstain.
I'd vote for him, cannot be any worse!
I don't think anyone would work harder at the position than Joey would.
Thanks Action.
In terms of my comment: "Love to sit down and discuss with you face-to-face."
I was actually serious. I am interested in ways to make the paper better. Why do you think that I am writing for it? Frankly, working for the Sil has decreased the amount of time and attention that I am giving to national stories. Many of them greatly interest me. I want to see the Sil be a better paper. I am working on stories that interest students on the issues that affect them.
You want a comment that you can rag on? I give you it: It is easy to stand for nothing, so stand for something when no ones knows; try standing for something when everyone knows where you stand.
You make good copy joey. copy that will turn heads. copy that will get published.
isnt that really what journalists strive to do? try to make it to A1 above the fold, or maybe A3.
try to get people to notice them... and read/care about what they have to say.
yes joey, we all know where you stand. you've always made that pretty clear.
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