CSU Briefs

NewsMichelle Pucci — Published February 3, 2015

Loyola Office Move Expenses Approved

The Loyola CSU office will move to the CC building in the next month.

The new office will have more space and create separate offices for services that are available downtown, including the legal and advocacy centres and the CSU’s Housing and Job Bank.

Council approved a $12,000 budget from the Student Space, Accessible Education and Legal Contingency Fund (SSAELC) to pay for new furniture, office supplies and IT equipment for the new Loyola offices.

“The reason we decided [on] $12,000 is to allow for a significant buffer so we won’t have to come back to council mid-way,” said Gabriel Velasco, VP Loyola. The Loyola committee estimates they’ll need $9,000.

The move is supposed to take place before or after reading week.

General Election Nomination Dates Announced

The nomination period for this year’s CSU general elections will be from March 2 to March 6.

Last year the nomination period was stretched to ten days instead of five, possibly to encourage involvement. Voter turnout increased significantly during the November by-election, with about 2,500 students participating.

“The CEO recommended we shorten the nomination period,” said CSU President Benjamin Prunty at the last council meeting.

Prunty says the nomination period is also being brought up in advance to give the Chief Electoral Officer enough time to prepare.

In a report delivered to council last Wednesday, former CEO Andre-Marcel Baril pointed out that the last by-election was called on short notice.

Voting will take place March 24 to March 26.

Advocacy Centre to Open in March

The downtown CSU-run Advocacy Centre is expected to officially open after the reading week.

Renovations for the new Advocacy Centre should be completed in the next ten days and furniture will be delivered in two hauls.

Part of the renovations include installing a floor-to-ceiling window wall in the former Travel Cuts bureau. Travel Cuts, also known in Quebec as Voyages Campus, moved in 2013 to its current location at the corner of St. Denis St. and de Maisonneuve Blvd.

“It looks professional and I think it’s a better work environment for the advocates,” said Terry Wilkings, VP Academic and Advocacy. “Right now they’re in a windowless room.”

The Legal Information Clinic will take over the Advocacy Centre’s former office space on the seventh floor to create a separate conference room.